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THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 


"  Nothing  daunted,  the  pair  made  a  rush  at  Berrington  who  fired 
right  and  left."     Frontispiece.     Seepage  191. 


THE 
SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 


BY 


F.  M.  WHITE 

AUTHOR   OF    "  TREGABTHEN'S   WIFE "    "  THE    WHITE   BATTALION  " 
"  THE  ROBE  OF  LUCIFER  "  ETC  ETC 


ILLUSTKATED 


BOSTON 

LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY 

1906 


Copyright,  1904, 
By  FRED  M.  WHITE. 

Copyright,  1906, 

By  little,  brown,  and  company. 


All  Eights  Reserved 


Published  November,  1906 


$rinttr« 
S.  J.  Parkhili.  &  Co., Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chapter  I I 

Chapter  II 9 

Chapter  III 17 

Chapter  IV 25 

Chapter  V 33 

Chapter  VI 41 

Chapter  VII 49 

Chapter  VIII        57 

Chapter  IX      . 65 

Chapter  X       73 

Chapter  XI 81 

Chapter  XII 89 

Chapter  XIII        97 

Chapter  XIV       105 

Chapter  XV 113 

Chapter  XVI        121 

Chapter  XVII 129 

Chapter  XVIII 137 

Chapter  XIX        145 

Chapter  XX 153 

Chapter  XXI        161 

Chapter  XXII , 169 

Chapter  XXIII 177 


2138862 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chapter  XXIV 185 

Chapter  XXV 193 

Chapter  XXVI 201 

Chapter  XXVII 209 

Chapter  XXVIII 217 

Chapter  XXIX 225 

Chapter  XXX 233 

Chapter  XXXI 241 

Chapter  XXXII 249 

Chapter  XXXIII 256 

Chapter  XXXIV 264 

Chapter  XXXV 272 

Chapter  XXXVI 280 

Chapter  XXXVII 288 

Chapter  XXXVIII 296 

Chapter  XXXIX 304 

Chapter  XL 312 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


"  Nothing  daunted,  the  pair  made  a  rush 
at  Berrington,  who  fired  right  and 
left " Frontispiece 

"  Richford  stood  there  shaking  and  quiv- 
ering with  passion       Page        49 

"  The  police-officer  looked  suspiciously  at 

the  figure " "  107 


THE 
SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  girl  turned  away  from  the  splendour  of  it  and 
laid  her  aching  head  against  the  cool  window- 
pane.  A  hansom  flashed  along  in  the  street  below  with 
just  a  glimpse  of  a  pretty  laughing  girl  in  it  with  a 
man  by  her  side.  From  another  part  of  the  Royal 
Palace  Hotel  came  sounds  of  mirth  and  gaiety.  All 
the  world  seemed  to  be  happy,  to-night,  perhaps  to  mock 
the  misery  of  the  girl  with  her  head  against  the  window- 
pane. 

And  yet  on  the  face  of  it,  Beatrice  Darryll's  lines 
seemed  to  have  fallen  in  pleasant  places.  She  was 
young  and  healthy,  and,  in  the  eyes  of  her  friends, 
beautiful.  Still,  the  startling  pallor  of  her  face  was 
in  vivid  contrast  with  the  dead  black  dress  she  wore,  a 
dress  against  which  her  white  arms  and  throat  stood 
out  like  ivory  on  a  back-ground  of  ebony  and  silver. 
There  was  no  colour  about  the  girl  at  all,  save  for  the 
warm,  ripe  tone  of  her  hair  and  the  deep,  steadfast  blue 
of  her  eyes.  Though  her  face  was  cold  and  scornful, 
she  would  not  have  given  the  spectator  the  impression 
of  coldness,  only  utter  weariness  and  a  tiredness  of  life 
at  the  early  age  of  twenty-two. 

1 


2  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Behind  her  was  a  table  laid  out  for  a  score  of  dinner 
guests.  Everything  was  absolutely  perfect  and  exceed- 
ingly costly,  as  appertained  to  all  things  at  the  Royal 
Palace  Hotel,  where  the  head  waiter  condescended 
to  bow  to  nothing  under  a  millionaire.  The  table  deco- 
rations were  red  in  tone,  there  were  red  shades  to  the 
low  electric  lights,  and  masses  of  red  carnations  every- 
where. No  taste,  and  incidentally  no  expense  had  been 
spared,  for  Beatrice  Darryll  was  to  be  married  on  the 
morrow,  and  her  father,  Sir  Charles,  was  giving  this 
dinner  in  honour  of  the  occasion.  Only  a  very  rich 
man  could  afford  a  luxury  like  that. 

"  I  think  everything  is  complete,  madame,"  a  waiter 
suggested  softly.     "  If  there  is  anything " 

Beatrice  turned  wearily  from  the  window.  She 
looked  old  and  odd  and  drawn  just  for  the  moment. 
And  yet  that  face  could  ripple  with  delighted  smiles, 
the  little  red  mouth  was  made  for  laughter.  Beatrice's 
eyes  swept  over  the  wealth  of  good  taste  and  criminal 
extravagance. 

"  It  will  do  very  nicely,"  the  girl  said.  "  It  will  do 
—  anything  will  do.  I  mean  you  have  done  your  work 
splendidly.     I  am  more  than  satisfied." 

The  gratified,  if  slightly  puzzled,  waiter  bowed  him- 
self out.  The  bitter  scorn  in  Beatrice's  eyes  deepened. 
What  did  all  this  reckless  extravagance  mean  ?  Why 
was  it  justified  ?  The  man  who  might  have  answered 
the  question  sauntered  into  the  room.  A  wonderfully 
well-preserved  man  was  Sir  Charles  Darryll,  with  a 
boyish  smile  and  an  air  of  perennial  youth  unspotted 
by  the  world,  a  man  who  was  totally  unfitted  to  cope 
with  the  hard  grip  and  sordid  side  of  life.  There  were 
some  who  said  that  he  was  a  grasping,  greedy,  selfish 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  3 

old  rascal,  who  under  the  guise  of  youthful  integrity 
concealed  a  nature  that  was  harsh  and  cruel. 

"  Well,  my  dear  child,"  Sir  Charles  cried.  "  And 
are  you  not  satisfied?  That  table-setting  is  perfect;  I 
never  saw  anything  in  more  exquisite  taste." 

"  It  will  all  have  to  be  paid  for,"  Beatrice  said 
wearily.     "  The  money " 

"  Will  be  forthcoming.  I  have  no  doubt  of  it. 
Whether  I  have  it  at  the  bank  or  not  I  cannot  for  the 
moment  say.  If  not,  then  our  good  friend  Stephen 
Richford  must  lend  it  me.  My  dear  child,  that  black' 
dress  of  yours  gives  me  quite  a  painful  shock.  Why 
wear  it  ? " 

Beatrice  crossed  over  and  regarded  her  pale  reflection 
in  the  glass  opposite.  The  little  pink  nails  were  dug 
fiercely  into  the  still  pinker  flesh  of  her  palm. 

"  Why  not  ?  "  she  asked.  "  Is  it  not  appropriate  ? 
Am  I  not  in  the  deepest  mourning  for  my  lost  honour  ? 
To-morrow  I  am  going  to  marry  a  man  who  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  I  loathe  and  despise.  I  am  going 
to  sell  myself  to  him  for  money  —  money  to  save  your 
good  name.  Oh,  I  know  that  I  shall  have  the  benedic- 
tion of  the  church,  less  fortunate  girls  will  envy  me; 
but  I  am  not  a  whit  better  than  the  poor  creature  flaunt- 
ing her  shame  on  the  pavement.  Nay,  I  am  worse,  for 
she  can  plead  that  love  was  the  cause  of  her  undoing. 
Father,  I  can't,  can't  go  through  with  it." 

She  flung  herself  down  in  a  chair  and  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands.  The  boyish  innocence  of  Sir 
Charles's  face  changed  suddenly,  a  wicked  gleam  came 
into  his  eyes.  His  friends  would  have  found  a  diffi- 
culty in  recognizing  him  then. 

"  Get  up,"  he  said  sternly.     "  Get  up  and  come  to 


4  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

the  window  with  me.  Now,  what  do  you  see  in  this 
room  ? " 

"  Evidences  of  wealth  that  is  glittering  here,"  Bea- 
trice cried.  "  Shameless  extravagance  that  you  can 
never  hope  to  pay  for.     Costly  flowers " 

"  And  everything  that  makes  life  worth  living.  All 
these  things  are  necessary  to  me.  They  will  be  with 
me  till  the  end  if  you  marry  Stephen  Richford.  Now 
look  outside.  Do  you  see  those  two  men  elaborately 
doing  nothing  by  the  railings  opposite.  You  do  ?  Well, 
they  are  watching  me.  They  have  been  dogging  mo 
for  three  days.  And  if  anything  happened  now,  a 
sudden  illness  on  your  part,  anything  to  postpone  to- 
morrow's ceremony,  I  should  pass  the  next  day  in  jail. 
You  did  not  think  it  was  as  bad  as  that,  did  you  ? " 

The  man's  face  was  livid  with  fury ;  he  had  Beatrice's 
bare  arm  in  a  cruel  grip,  but  she  did  not  notice  the  pain. 
Her  mental  trouble  was  too  deep  for  that. 

"It's  that  City  Company  that  I  hinted  at,"  Sir 
Charles  went  on.  "  There  was  a  chance  of  a  fortune 
there.  I  recognized  that  chance,  and  I  became  a  direc- 
tor. And  there  was  risk,  too.  We  took  our  chance, 
and  the  chance  failed.  We  gambled  desperately,  and 
again  fortune  failed  us.  Certain  people  who  were 
against  us  have  made  unhappy  discoveries.  That  is 
why  those  men  are  watching  me.  But  if  I  can  send  the 
chairman  a  letter  to-morrow  assuming  innocence  and 
regret  and  enclosing  a  cheque  for  £5,000  to  cover  my 
fees  and  to  recover  all  the  shares  I  have  sold,  then  I 
come  out  with  a  higher  reputation  than  ever.  I  shall 
shine  as  the  one  honest  man  in  a  den  of  thieves.  That 
cheque  and  more,  Richford  has  promised  me  directly 
you   are  his   wife.     Do   you  understand,   you   sullen, 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  5 

white-faced  fool  ?  Do  you  see  the  danger  ?  If  I 
thought  you  were  going  to  back  out  of  it  now,  I  'd  stran- 
gle you." 

Beatrice  felt  no  fear ;  she  was  long  past  that  emotion. 
Her  weary  eyes  fell  on  the  banks  of  red  carnations;  on 
the  shaded  lights  and  the  exquisite  table  service.  The 
fit  of  passion  had  left  her  indifferent  and  cold.  She 
was  not  in  the  least  sullen. 

"  It  would  be  the  kindest  act  you  could  do,  father," 
she  said.  "  Oh,  I  know  that  this  is  no  new  thing. 
There  is  no  novelty  in  the  situation  of  a  girl  giving  her- 
self to  a  man  whom  she  despises,  for  the  sake  of  his 
money.  The  records  of  the  Divorce  Court  teem  with 
such  cases.  For  the  battered  honour  of  my  father  I 
am  going  to  lose  my  own.  Be  silent  —  no  sophistry  of 
yours  can  hide  the  brutal  truth.  I  hate  that  man  from 
the  bottom  of  my  soul,  and  he  knows  it.  And  yet  his 
one  desire  is  to  marry  me.     In  Heaven's  name,  why  ?  " 

Sir  Charles  chuckled  slightly.  The  danger  was  past, 
and  he  could  afford  to  be  good-humoured  again.  Look- 
ing at  his  daughter  he  could  understand  the  feelings  of 
the  lover  who  grew  all  the  more  ardent  as  Beatrice  drew 
back.  And  Stephen  Richford  was  a  millionaire.  It 
mattered  little  that  both  he  and  his  father  had  made 
their  money  in  crooked  ways ;  it  mattered  little  that  the 
best  men  and  a  few  of  the  best  clubs  would  have  none 
of  Stephen  Richford  so  long  as  Society  generally  smiled 
on  him  and  fawned  at  his  feet. 

"  You  need  have  no  further  fear,"  Beatrice  answered 
coldly.  "  My  weakness  has  passed.  I  am  not  likely  to 
forget  myself  again.     My  heart  is   dead  and  buried 


"  That's  the  way  to  talk,"  Sir  Charles  said  cheerfujly. 


6  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Feeling  better,  eh  ?  I  once  fancied  that  that  con- 
founded foolishness  between  Mark  Ventmore  and  your- 
self,—  eh,  what  ?  " 

A  wave  of  crimson  passed  over  Beatrice's  pale  face. 
Her  little  hands  trembled. 

"  It  was  no  foolishness,"  she  said.  "  I  never  cared 
for  anyone  but  Mark,  I  never  shall  care  for  anybody 
else.  If  Mark's  father  had  not  disowned  him,  because 
he  preferred  art  to  that  terrible  City,  you  would  never 
have  come  between  us.  But  you  parted  us,  and  you 
thought  that  there  was  an  end  of  it.  But  you  were 
wrong.  Let  me  tell  the  truth.  I  wrote  to  Mark  in 
Venice,  only  last  week,  asking  him  to  come  to  me.  I 
got  no  reply  to  that  letter.  If  I  had  and  he  had  come 
to  me,  I  should  have  told  him  everything  and  implored 
him  to  marry  me.  But  the  letter  was  not  delivered,  and 
therefore  you  need  have  no  fear  of  those  men  in  the 
street.  But  my  escape  has  been  much  nearer  than  you 
imagine." 

Sir  Charles  turned  away  humming  some  operatic 
fragment  gaily.  There  was  not  the  least  occasion  for 
him  to  give  any  display  of  feeling  in  the  matter.  It 
had  been  an  exceedingly  lucky  thing  for  him  that  the 
letter  in  question  had  miscarried.  And  nothing  could 
make  any  difference  now,  seeing  that  Beatrice  had  given 
her  word,  and  that  was  a  thing  that  she  always  respected. 
All  Beatrice's  probity  and  honour  she  inherited  from 
her  mother. 

"  Very  foolish,  very  foolish,"  Sir  Charles  muttered 
benignly.  "  Girls  are  so  impulsive.  Don't  you  think 
that  those  carnations  would  be  improved  by  a  little  more 
foliage  at  the  base  ?  They  strike  me  as  being  a  little 
set  and  formal.     Now,  is  not  that  better  ?  " 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  7 

As  if  he  had  not  either  care  or  trouble  in  the  world, 
Sir  Charles  added  a  few  deft  touches  to  the  deep  crim- 
son blooms.  His  face  was  careless  and  boyish  and  open 
again.  From  the  next  room  came  the  swish  of  silken 
skirts  and  the  sound  of  a  high-bred  voice  asking  for 
somebody. 

"  Lady  Eashborough,"  Sir  Charles  cried,  "  I  '11  go 
and  receive  her.  And  do  for  goodness'  sake  try  to 
look  a  little  more  cheerful.  Stay  in  here  and  compose 
yourself." 

Sir  Charles  went  off  with  an  eager  step  and  his  most 
fascinating  smile.  Lord  Eashborough  was  the  head  of 
his  family.  He  was  going  to  give  Beatrice  away  to- 
morrow; indeed,  Beatrice  would  drive  to  the  church 
from  Eashborough's  town  house,  though  the  reception 
was  in  the  Royal  Palace  Hotel. 

Beatrice  passed  her  hand  across  her  face  wearily. 
She  stood  for  a  moment  looking  into  the  fire,  her 
thoughts  very  far  away.  Gradually  the  world  and  its 
surroundings  came  back  to  her,  and  she  was  more  or 
less  conscious  that  somebody  was  in  the  room.  As  she 
turned  suddenly  a  tall  figure  turned  also,  and  made 
with  hesitation  towards  the  door. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  the  stranger  said  in  a  soft,  pleading 
voice ;  "  I  am  afraid  that  I  have  made  a  mistake." 

"  If  you  are  looking  for  anybody,"  Beatrice  sug- 
gested, "  my  father  has  these  rooms.  If  you  have  come 
to  see  Sir  Charles  Darryll,  why,  I  could " 

It  struck  Beatrice  just  for  a  moment  that  here  was 
an  adventurer  after  the  silver  plate.  But  a  glance  at 
the  beautiful,  smooth,  sorrowful  face  beat  down  the 
suspicion  as  quickly  as  it  had  risen.  The  intruder  was 
unmistakably  a  lady,  she  was  dressed  from  head  to  foot 


8  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

in  silver  grey,  and  had  a  bonnet  to  match.  In  some 
vague  way  she  reminded  Beatrice  of  a  hospital  nurse, 
and  then  again  of  some  grande  dame  in  one  of  the  old- 
fashioned  country  houses  where  the  parvenue  and  the 
Russo-Semitic  financier  is  not  permitted  to  enter. 

"  I  took  the  wrong  turn,"  the  stranger  said.  "  I 
fancy  I  can  reach  the  corridor  by  that  door  opposite. 
These  great  hotels  are  so  big,  they  confuse  me.  So  you 
are  Beatrice  Darryll ;  I  have  often  heard  of  you.  If  I 
may  venture  to  Congratulate  you  upon " 

"  No,  no,"  Beatrice  cried  quickly.  "  Please  don't. 
Perhaps  if  you  tell  me  your  name  I  may  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  help  you  to  find  anybody  you  may  chance " 

The  stranger  shook  her  head  as  she  stood  in  the  door- 
way.    Her  voice  was  low  and  sweet  as  she  replied. 

"  It  does  not  in  the  least  matter,"  she  said.  "  You 
can  call  me  the  Slave  of  the  Bond." 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  guests  had  assembled  at  length,  the  dinner  was 
in  full  swing.  It  would  have  been  hard  for  any 
onlooker  to  have  guessed  that  so  much  misery  and 
heart-burning  were  there.  Sir  Charles,  smiling,  gay, 
debonair,  chatted  with  his  guests  as  if  quite  forgetful 
of  the  silent  watchers  by  the  railings  outside.  He  might 
have  been  a  rich  man  as  he  surveyed  the  tables  and 
ordered  the  waiters  about.  True,  somebody  else  would 
eventually  pay  for  the  dinner,  but  that  detracted  noth- 
ing from  the  host's  enjoyment. 

Beatrice  had  a  fixed  smile  to  her  face;  she  also  had 
disguised  her  feelings  marvellously.  There  were  other 
girls  bidden  to  that  brilliant  feast  who  envied  Miss  Dar- 
ryll  and  secretly  wondered  why  she  was  dressed  so 
plainly  and  simply.  On  her  left  hand  sat  Stephen  Rich- 
ford,  a  dull,  heavy-looking  man  with  a  thick  lip  and  a 
suggestion  of  shiftiness  in  his  small  eyes.  Altogether 
he  bore  a  strong  resemblance  to  a  prize-fighter.  He  was 
quiet  and  a  little  moody,  as  was  his  wont,  so  that  most 
of  Beatrice's  conversation  was  directed  to  her  neigh- 
bour on  the  other  side,  Colonel  Berrington,  a  brilliant 
soldier  not  long  from  the  East. 

A  handsome  and  distinguished-looking  man  he  was, 
with  melancholy  droop  to  his  moustache  and  the  shadow 
of  some  old  sorrow  in  his  eyes.  Colonel  Berrington 
went  everywhere  and  knew  everything,  but  as  to  his 
past  he  said  nothing.     Nobody  knew  anything  about  his 

9 


10  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

people  and  yet  everybody  trusted  him,  indeed  no 
man  in  the  Army  had  been  in  receipt  of  more  confi- 
dences. Perhaps  it  was  his  innate  feeling,  his  deep 
sense  of  introspection.  And  he  knew  by  a  kind  of  in- 
stinct that  the  beautiful  girl  by  his  side  was  not  happy. 

"  So  this  is  your  last  free  party,  Miss  Beatrice,"  he 
smiled.  "  It  seems  strange  to  think  that  when  last  we 
met  you  were  a  happy  child,  and  now " 

"  And  now  an  unhappy  woman,  you  were  going  to 
suggest,"  Beatrice  replied.     "  Is  not  that  so  %  " 

"  Positively,  I  refuse  to  have  words  like  that  put  into 
my  mouth,"  Berrington  protested.  "  Looking  round 
the  table  I  can  see  four  girls  at  least  who  are  envying 
you  from  the  botton  of  their  hearts.  Now  could  any 
society  woman  be  miserable  under  those  circum- 
stances ? " 

Beatrice  flushed  a  little  as  she  toyed  nervously  with 
her  bread.  Berrington's  words  were  playful  enough, 
but  there  was  a  hidden  meaning  behind  them  that  Bea- 
trice did  not  fail  to  notice.  In  a  way  he  was  telling 
her  how  sorry  he  was;  Richford  had  been  more  or  less 
dragged  into  a  sporting  discussion  by  the  lady  on  the 
other  side,  so  that  Beatrice  and  her  companion  had  no 
fear  of  being  interrupted.  Their  eyes  met  for  a  mo- 
ment. 

"  I  don't  think  they  have  any  great  need  to  be  envi- 
ous," the  girl  said.  "  Colonel  Berrington,  I  am  going 
to  ask  what  may  seem  a  strange  question  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. I  am  going  to  make  a  singular  request. 
Everybody  likes  and  trusts  you.  I  have  liked  and 
trusted  you  since  the  first  day  I  met  you.  Will  you  be 
my  friend, —  if  anything  happens  when  I  want  a  friend 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  11 

sorely,  will  you  come  to  me  and  help  me  ?  I  know  it  is 
singular " 

"  It  is  not  at  all  singular,"  Berrington  said  in  a  low 
voice.  He  shot  a  quick  glance  of  dislike  at  Richford's 
heavy  jowl.  "  One  sees  things,  quiet  men  like  myself 
always  see  things.  And  I  understand  exactly  what  you 
mean.  If  I  am  in  England  I  will  come  to  you.  But  I 
warn  you  that  my  time  is  fully  occupied.  All  my  long 
leave " 

"  But  surely  you  have  no  work  to  do  whilst  you  are  in 
England  on  leave  ?  " 

"  Indeed  I  have.  I  have  a  quest,  a  search  that  never 
seems  to  end.  I  thought  that  I  had  finished  it  to-night, 
and  singularly  enough,  in  this  very  hotel.  I  can't  go 
into  the  matter  here  with  all  this  chattering  mob  of  peo- 
ple about  us,  for  the  story  is  a  sad  one.  But  if  ever 
you  should  chance  to  meet  a  grey  lady  with  brown  eyes 
and  lovely  grey  hair " 

"  The  stranger !  How  singular ! "  Beatrice  ex- 
claimed.    "  Why,  only  to-night  in  this  very  room." 

"  Ah !  "  the  word  came  with  a  gasp  almost  like  pain 
from  Berrington' s  lips.  The  laughter  and  chatter  of 
the  dinner-table  gave  these  two  a  sense  of  personal  iso- 
lation. "  That  is  remarkable.  I  am  looking  for  a  grey 
lady,  and  I  trace  her  to  this  hotel  —  quite  by  accident, 
and  simply  because  I  am  dining  here  to-night.  And 
you  saw  her  in  this  room  ?  " 

"  I  did,"  Beatrice  said  eagerly.  "  She  came  here  by 
mistake ;  evidently  she  had  quite  lost  herself  in  this  bar- 
rack of  a  place.  She  was  dressed  from  head  to  foot  in 
silver  grey,  she  had  just  the  eyes  and  hair  that  you  de- 
scribe. And  when  I  asked  her  who  she  was,  she  merely 
said  that  she  was  the  Slave  of  the  Bond  and  vanished." 


12  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Colonel  Berrington's  entree  lay  neglected  on  his  plate. 
A  deeper  tinge  of  melancholy  than  usual  was  on  his 
face.     It  was  some  time  before  he  spoke  again. 

"  The  Slave  of  the  Bond,"  he  echoed.  "  How  true, 
how  characteristic!     And  that  is  all  you  have  to  tell 

me.     If  you  see  her  again but  there,  you  are  never 

likely  to  see  her  again  .  .  .  I  will  tell  you  the 
story  some  other  time,  not  before  these  frivolous  crea- 
tures here.  It  is  a  sad  story;  to  a  great  extent,  it  re- 
minds me  of  your  own,  Miss  Beatrice." 

"  Is  mine  a  sad  story  ? "  Beatrice  smiled  and 
blushed.     "  In  what  way  is  it  sad,  do  you  think  8  " 

"  Well,  we  need  not  go  into  details  here,"  Berrington 
replied.  "  You  see,  Mark  Ventmore  is  an  old  friend 
of  mine.  I  knew  his  father  intimately.  It  was  only 
at  Easter  that  we  met  in  Rome,  and,  as  you  say,  people 
are  so  good  as  to  regard  me  as  worthy  of  confidence. 
Beatrice,  is  it  too  late  ?  " 

Berrington  asked  the  question  in  a  fierce,  sudden 
whisper.  His  lean  fingers  clasped  over  the  girl's  hand. 
Sir  Charles  was  leaning  back  in  his  chair  talking  gaily. 
Nobody  seemed  to  heed  the  drama  that  was  going  on  in 
their  midst.     Beatrice's  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

"  It  is  a  great  comfort  to  me  to  know  that  I  have  so 
good  and  true  a  friend,"  she  said  with  her  eyes  cast 
down  on  her  plate.  "  No,  I  do  not  want  any  wine. 
Why  does  that  waiter  keep  pushing  that  wine  list  of 
his  under  my  nose  ?  " 

"  Then  you  are  quite  sure  that  it  is  too  late  ? "  Ber- 
ringon  asked  again. 

"  My  dear  friend,  it  is  inevitable,"  Beatrice  replied. 
"  It  is  a  matter  of  —  duty.     Look  at  my  father." 

Berrington  glanced  in  the  direction  of  Sir  Charles, 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  13 

who  was  bending  tenderly  over  the  very  pretty  woman 
on  his  right  hand.  Apparently  the  baronet  had  not  a 
single  care  in  the  world;  his  slim  hand  toyed  with  a 
glass  of  vintage  claret.  Berrington  gave  him  a  quick 
glance  of  contempt. 

"  I  do  not  see  what  Sir  Charles  has  to  do  with  it," 
he  said. 

"  My  father  has  everything  to  do  with  it,"  Beatrice 
said.  "  Does  he  not  look  happy  and  prosperous !  And 
yet  you  can  never  tell.  And  there  was  a  time  when  he 
was  so  very  different.  And  the  mere  thought  that  any 
action  of  mine  would  bring  disgrace  upon  him " 

Beatrice  paused  as  she  felt  Berrington's  eyes  upon 
her.  The  expression  of  his  face  showed  that  she  had 
said  enough,  and  more  than  enough. 

"  I  quite  understand,"  Berrington  said  quietly. 
"  You  are  a  hostage  to  fortune.  Honour  thy  father 
that  his  days  may  be  long  in  the  land  where  good  din- 
ners abound  and  tradesmen  are  confiding.  But  the 
shame,  the  burning  shame  of  it !  Here 's  that  con^ 
founded  waiter  again." 

Beatrice  felt  inclined  to  laugh  hysterically  at  Ber- 
rington's sudden  change  of  tone.  The  dark-eyed  Swiss 
waiter  was  bending  over  the  girl's  chair  again  with  a 
supplicating  suggestion  that  she  should  try  a  little  wine 
of  some  sort.  He  had  a  clean  list  in  his  hand,  and 
even  Berrington's  severest  military  frown  did  not  suf- 
fice to  scare  him  away. 

"  Ver'  excellent  wine,"  he  murmured.  "  A  little 
claret,  a  liqueur.  No.  74  is  what  —  will  madame 
kindly  look?  Madame  will  look  for  one  little  mo- 
ment ? " 


14  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

With  an  insistence  worthy  of  a  better  cause,  the 
Swiss  placed  the  card  in  Beatrice's  hand. 

It  was  a  clean  card,  printed  in  red  and  gold,  and  op- 
posite No.  74  was  a  pencilled  note.  The  girl's  eyes 
gleamed  as  she  saw  the  writing.  The  words  were  few 
but  significant.  "  In  the  little  conservatory  beyond  the 
drawing-room.     Soon  as  possible." 

"  I  shall  have  to  complain  about  that  fellow,"  Ber- 
rington  said.     "  Miss  Beatrice,  are  you  not  well  ?  " 

"  I  am  quite  well,  quite  strong  and  well,"  Beatrice 
whispered.  "  I  implore  you  not  to  attract  any  atten- 
tion to  me.  And  the  waiter  was  not  to  blame.  He  had 
a  message  to  deliver  to  me.  You  can  see  how  cleverly 
he  has  done  it.     Look  here !  " 

Beatrice  displayed  the  card  with  the  pencilled  words 
upon  it.  Berrington's  quick  intelligence  took  every- 
thing in  at  a  glance. 

"  Of  course  that  is  intended  for  you,"  he  said.  "  A 
neat  handwriting.  And  yet  in  some  way  it  seems  quite 
familiar  to  me.  Could  I  possibly  have  seen  it  any- 
where before  ? " 

"  I  should  say  that  it  is  extremely  likely,"  the  girl 
said.     "  It  is  Mark  Ventmore's  own  handwriting." 

Berrington  smiled.  He  had  all  a  soldier's  love  of 
adventure,  and  he  began  to  see  a  very  pretty  one  here. 

"  I  wrote  to  him  a  little  over  a  week  ago,"  Beatrice 
said  rapidly.  "  If  he  had  got  my  letter  then  and  come, 
goodness  knows  what  would  have  happened.  I  was 
not  quite  aware  at  that  hour  how  close  was  the  shadow 
of  disgrace.  I  expect  Mark  has  found  out  everything. 
Probably  he  has  only  just  arrived  and  feels  that  if  he 
does  not  see  me  to-night  it  will  be  too  late.  Colonel 
Berrington,  I  must  see  Mark  at  once,  oh,  I  must." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  15 

Nothing  could  be  easier.  Beatrice  had  merely  to 
say  that  she  was  suffering  with  a  dreadful  headache, 
that  the  atmosphere  of  the  room  was  insupportable,  and 
that  she  was  going  to  try  the  purer  air  of  the  conserva- 
tory beyond  the  dining-room. 

"  Wo,  you  need  not  come,"  Beatrice  said  as  Richford 
lounged  heavily  to  his  feet.  "  I  do  not  feel  the  least  in 
the  mood  to  talk  to  anybody,  not  even  you." 

The  listener's  sullen  features  flushed,  and  he  clenched 
his  hands.  Beatrice  had  never  taken  the  slightest 
trouble  to  disguise  her  dislike  for  the  man  she  had 
promised  to  marry.  In  his  heart  of  hearts  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  that  she  should  suffer  presently  for 
all  the  indignities  that  she  had  heaped  upon  his  head. 

"  All  right,"  he  said.  "  I  '11  come  into  the  drawing- 
room  and  wait  for  you.  Keep  you  from  being  inter- 
rupted, in  fact.  I  know  what  women's  headaches 
mean." 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  cowardly  insinuation, 
but  Berrington  said  nothing.  Richford  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  seen  the  signal,  and  yet  he  implied  an  assig- 
nation if  his  words  meant  anything  at  all.  It  was  a 
cruel  disappointment,  but  the  girl's  face  said  nothing 
of  her  emotions.  She  passed  quietly  along  till  she 
came  to  the  little  conservatory  where  presently  she  was 
followed  by  the  Swiss  waiter,  who  had  given  her  the 
card  with  Mark  Ventmore's  message  upon  it. 

"  Madame  is  not  well,"  he  said.  "  Madame  has  the 
dreadful  headache.  Can  I  get  anything  for  Madame  ? 
A  glass  of  water,  an  ice,  a  cup  of  coffee,  or " 

Beatrice  was  on  the  point  of  declining  everything, 
when  she  caught  the  eye  of  the  speaker.     Apparently 


16  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

there  was  some  hidden  meaning  behind  his  words,  for 
she  changed  her  mind. 

"  No  coffee,"  she  said  in  a  voice  that  was  meant  for 
the  lounger  in  the  drawing-room,  "  but  I  shall  be  very 
glad  if  you  will  let  me  have  a  cup  of  tea,  strong  tea, 
without  milk  or  sugar." 

The  waiter  bowed  and  retired.  Beatrice  sat  there 
with  her  head  back  as  if  utterly  worn  out,  though  her 
heart  was  beating  thick  and  fast.  She  looked  up  again 
presently  as  a  waiter  entered  leaving  the  necessary 
things  on  a  tray.  It  was  not  the  same  waiter,  but  a 
taller,  fairer  man  who  bowed  as  he  held  out  the  silver 
salver. 

"  The  tea,  Madame,"  he  said.  "  May  I  be  allowed 
to  pour  it  out  for  you  ?     Steady !  " 

*The  last  word  was  no  more  than  a  whisper.  Bea- 
trice checked  the  cry  that  came  to  her  lips. 

"  Mark,"  she  murmured.  "  Mark,  dear  Mark,  is  it 
really  you  ? " 

The  tall  waiter  smiled  as  he  laid  a  hand  on  the  girl's 
trembling  fingers. 

"  Indeed  it  is,  darling,"  he  said.  "  Eor  God's  sake 
don't  say  I  have  come  too  late !  " 


CHAPTER  III 

FROM  the  point  of  view  of  the  onlooker  there  could 
have  been  nothing  suspicious  in  the  attitude  of 
the'pseudo  waiter  with  his  try.  He  could  see  Beatrice 
leaning  back  as  if  the  pain  in  her  head  had  made  her 
oblivious  to  everything  else.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Bea- 
trice was  racking  her  brains  for  some  way  out  of  the 
difficulty.  The  self-elected  waiter  could  not  stay  there 
much  longer,  in  any  case,  at  least  not  unless  the  suspi- 
cious Richford  took  it  in  his  head  to  return  to  the  din- 
ner-table again. 

"  It  is  so  good  of  you  to  come,"  Beatrice  said,  still 
with  her  head  thrown  back  in  the  air.  "  That  man  has 
followed-  me,  though  Heaven  knows  what  he  has  to  be 
suspicious  about.  Go  away  for  a  few  minutes,  as  if 
you  had  forgotten  something,  and  then  return  again." 

Mark  Ventmore  assented  with  a  low  bow.  Scarcely 
had  he  left  the  conservatory  by  a  door  leading  to  the 
corridor  then  Richford  strolled  in. 

"  Feeling  better  now  ? "  he  asked  ungraciously. 
"  Funny'  things,  women's  headaches !  " 

"  For  Heaven's  sake  go  away,"  Beatrice  exclaimed. 
"  Why  do  you  come  and  torture  me  like  this  ?  You 
are  the  very  last  I  want  to  see  just  now.  Don't  drive  me 
over  the  border.  Go  back  to  the  others,  and  leave  me 
in  peace." 

With  a  sullen  air,  Richford  lounged  away;  Colonel 
Berrington  was  crossing  the  drawing-room,  and  Bea- 
2.  17 


18  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

trice's  heart  beat  high  with  hope.  She  might  have 
known  that  the  gallant  soldier  would  help  her  if  possi- 
sible.  With  unspeakable  relief  she  saw  Richford  tact- 
fully drawn  away  and  disappear.  Very  quickly  Bea- 
trice changed  her  seat,  so  that  she  could  command  a 
view  of  the  drawing-room  without  herself  being  seen. 
The  side  door  opened,  and  Mark  Ventmore  came  in 
again.  He  carried  a  tray  still,  but  he  no  longer  looked 
like  a  waiter.  With  one  quick  glance  around  him  he 
advanced  to  Beatrice  and  knelt  by  the  side  of  her  chair. 

"  My  darling,"  he  whispered.  "  Oh,  my  dear  little 
love !     Am  I  too  late  ?  " 

Beatrice  said  nothing  for  a  moment.  She  was  con- 
tent only  to  forget  her  unhappy  lot  in  the  knowledge 
that  the  one  man  she  had  ever  cared  for  was  by  her 
side.  Ventmore's  arm  stole  about  her;  her  head 
drooped  to  his  shoulder.  There  was  a  faint,  unsteady 
smile  on  the  girl's  lips  as  Ventmore  bent  and  kissed 
her  passionately. 

"  Why  did  you  not  come  before  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  My  dearest,  I  could  not.  I  was  away  from  my 
quarters,  and  I  did  not  get  your  letter.  I  am  only 
here  quite  by  chance.     But  is  it  too  late  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  fear  so ;  I  fear  so,"  Beatrice  murmured.  "  If 
you  had  come  a  week  ago  I  should  have  asked  you  to 
marry  me  and  take  me  away  from  it  all.  And  yet,  if 
I  had  done  so,  my  father  would  have  been  ruined  and 
disgraced." 

Mark  Ventmore  moved  his  shoulders  a  little  impa- 
tiently. 

"  So  Sir  Charles  says,"  he  replied.  "  Sir  Charles 
was  always  very  good  at  those  insinuations.  He  has 
played  upon  your  feelings,  of  course,  sweetheart." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  19 

"  Not  this  time,  Mark.  He  lias  mixed  himself  up 
in  some  disgraceful  City  business.  A  prosecution 
hangs  in  the  air.  And  I  am  to  be  the  price  of  his 
freedom.  My  future  husband  will  see  my  father 
through  after  I  become  his  wife.  Even  now  there  are 
private  detectives  watching  my  father.  It  is  a  dread- 
ful business  altogether,  Mark.  And  yet  if  you  had 
come  a  week  ago,  I  should  have  risked  it  all  for  your 
sake." 

Ventmore  pressed  the  trembling  figure  to  his  heart 
passionately.  Under  his  breath  he  swore  that  this  hid- 
eous sacrifice  should  never  be.  Was  this  white-drawn 
woman  in  his  arms,  the  happy  laughing  little  Beatrice 
that  he  used  to  know?  They  had  parted  cheerfully 
enough  a  year  since;  they  had  agreed  not  to  write  to 
one  another;  they  had  infinite  trust  in  the  future. 
Mark  was  going  to  make  his  fortune  as  a  painter,  and 
Beatrice  was  to  wait  for  him.  And  now  it  was  the 
girl's  wedding  eve,  and  the  fates  had  been  too  strong 
for  her  altogether. 

"  Leave  your  father  to  himself  and  come,"  Mark 
urged.  "  I  am  making  enough  now  to  keep  us  both  in 
comfort;  not  quite  the  income  that  I  hoped  to  ask  you 
to  share  with  me,  but  at  least  we  shall  be  happy.  I 
will  take  you  to  a  dear  old  friend  of  mine,  and  to-mor- 
row I  will  buy  a  license.  After  that  no  harm  can  mo- 
lest you." 

Beatrice  closed  her  eyes  before  the  beatitude  of  the 
prospect.  Just  for  the  moment  she  felt  inclined  to  yield. 
Mark  was  so  strong  and  good  and  handsome,  and  she 
loved  him  so.  And  yet  she  had  given  her  word  for  the 
sake  of  her  father. 

"  I  cannot,"  she  said.     Her  voice  was  very  low  but 


20  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

quit©  firm.  "  I  have  promised  my  father.  Oh,  yes,  I 
know  that  I  had  promised  you  first.  But  it  is  for  the 
sake  of  my  father's  honour.  If  I  do  what  you  wish  he 
will  go  to  jail  —  nothing  can  prevent  it.  I  only  knew 
to-night." 

"  And  you  are  sure  that  Sir  Charles  is  not  —  not 
.     .     .     you  know  what  I  mean  %  " 

"  Lying  to  me  ?  "  Beatrice  said  bitterly.  "  Not  this 
time.  I  always  know  when  he  is  making  an  effort  to 
deceive  me.     Mark,  don't  press  me." 

Mark  crushed  down  his  feelings  with  an  effort. 
Blindly  and  passionately  in  love  as  he  was,  he  could  see 
that  duty  and  reason  were  on  the  side  of  the  girl.  She 
would  have  to  be  sacrificed  to  this  scoundrelly  father, 
and  to  please  the  other  rascal  who  coveted  her  beauty 
and  her  fair  white  body  all  the  more  because  Beatrice 
kept  him  so  rigidly  at  a  distance. 

"  It  seems  very,  very  hard,"  Mark  said  thoughtfully. 
"  Terribly  hard  on  both  of  us." 

"  Yes,  but  it  is  always  the  woman  who  suffers  most," 
Beatrice  replied.  "  There  is  no  help  for  it,  Mark.  I 
must  see  this  thing  out  to  the  end.  If  you  had  only 
come  before !  " 

"  My  darling,  I  came  as  quickly  as  I  could.  I  am 
staying  here  to-night,  and  my  room  is  in  the  same  cor- 
ridor as  that  of  Sir  Charles.  I  shall  see  him  to-night, 
or  early  to-morrow,  and  tell  him  a  few  of  the  things 
that  I  have  discovered.  Perhaps  when  I  open  his  eyes 
to  the  truth  as  to  his  future  son-in-law,  he  will  change 
his  mind." 

"  He  will  never  do  so,"  Beatrice  said  mournfully. 
"  My  father  can  always  justify  himself  and  his  con- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  21 

science  where  his  own  interests  are  concerned.  But 
how  did  you  know " 

"  That  you  were  in  trouble  ?  It  came  to  me  quite 
by  accident.  I  was  in  Paris  a  day  or  two  ago  to  see  a 
wealthy  American  who  wants  some  of  my  work.  And 
as  I  was  alone  in  the  evening,  I  went  to  one  of  the  thea- 
tres. There  were  two  English  ladies  by  me  in  the 
stalls  and  presently  they  began  to  talk  about  you*.  I 
could  not  help  hearing.  Then  I  heard  everything.  Do 
you  know  a  tall,  elderly  lady  with  dark  eyes  and  white 
hair,    a  lady  all  in  silver  grey  ?  " 

Beatrice  started.  Surely  Mark  was  describing  the 
Slave  of  the  Bond,  as  the  grey  lady  whom  Beatrice  had 
encountered  earlier  in  the  evening  had  called  herself. 

"  I  know  her:  and  I  don't  know  her,"  the  girl  cried. 
"  She  came  into  the  dining-room  here  before  dinner 
quite  by  accident.  I  thought  she  was  some  adventuress 
at  first.  But  her  face  was  too  good  and  pure  for  that. 
I  asked  her  who  she  was,  and  she  said  she  was  the  Slave 
of  the  Bond.  Is  this  a  coincidence,  or  is  there  some- 
thing deeper  beyond  ?     I  don't  know  what  to  think." 

"  Something  deeper  beyond,  I  should  imagine,"  Mark 
said.  "  Be  sure  that  in  some  way  or  another  this  grey 
lady  is  interested  in  your  welfare.  But  I  am  abso- 
lutely sure  that  she  did  not  know  me." 

"  And  so  you  came  on  at  once,  Mark  ? "  Beatrice 
asked. 

"  As  soon  as  possible,  dear.  I  heard  about  the  din- 
ner whilst  I  was  in  the  theatre.  My  train  was  very 
late,  and  I  could  not  possibly  carry  out  the  programme 
that  I  had  arranged.  My  next  difficulty  was  to  get 
speech  with  you.  Happily,  a  half  sovereign  and  an  in- 
telligent waiter  solved  that  problem.     When  Bichford 


22  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

followed  you  I  had  to  borrow  that  tray  and  the  rest  of 
it  and  disburse  another  half  sovereign.  Then  I  saw  that 
my  old  friend  Berrington  had  come  to  my  rescue.  Did 
you  tell  him,  Beatrice  ?  " 

"  He  saw  the  message  on  the  wine  card  and  recog- 
nized your  handwriting.  But  I  shall  not  be  able  to 
stay  much  longer,  Mark.  Those  people  may  come  into 
the  drawing-room  at  any  moment.  This  must  be  our 
last  meeting." 

"  I  am  not  going  to  be  so  sure  of  that,  Beatrice. 
What  I  have  to  say  to  your  father  must  move  him.  The 
idea  of  your  being  the  wife  of  that  man  —  but  I  will 
not  think  of  it  Oh,  love  will  find  the  way  even  at  this 
very  late  hour." 

Mark  would  have  said  more,  only  there  was  the  flut- 
ter of  a  dress  in  the  drawing-room  beyond,  and  the 
echo  of  a  laugh.  The  dinner  guests  were  coming  into 
the  drawing-room.  With  a  quick  motion,  Mark 
snatched  the  girl  to  his  heart  and  kissed  her  passion- 
ately. 

"  Good  night,  darling,"  he  whispered.  "  Keep  up 
your  courage.  Who  knows  what  may  happen  between 
now  and  twelve  o  'clock  to-morrow  ?  And  after  I  have 
seen  your  father " 

Another  kiss,  and  the  lover  was  gone.  Beatrice  lay 
back  in  her  chair  striving  to  collect  her  thoughts. 
Everything  seemed  to  have  happened  so  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly.  There  were  people  about  her  now  who 
were  asking  smoothly  sympathetic  questions  in  the  hol- 
low insincerity  of  the  world. 

"  I  'm  no  better,"  Beatrice  said.  "  If  my  aunt  is 
ready  I  should  like  to  go  home.  My  father  will  stay 
and  see  that  you  get  your  bridge  all  right." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  23 

Beatrice  had  gone  at  length  with  Lady  Rashborough, 
the  rest  of  the  guests  had  finished  their  bridge,  and  the 
party  was  breaking  up.  Mark  Ventmore  was  sitting, 
smoking  cigarettes  in  his  bedroom,  waiting  for  the 
chance  to  see  Sir  Charles.  It  was  getting  very  late 
now,  and  all  the  guests  had  long  since  been  in  their 
rooms.  With  his  door  open  Mark  could  see  into  the 
corridor. 

Then  he  gave  a  little  whistle  of  astonishment  as  the 
door  of  Sir  Charles's  sitting-room  opened  and  the  grey 
lady,  the  Slave  of  the  Bond  of  Silence,  came  out.  Sho 
was  'dressed  just  as  Mark  had  seen  her  before ;  as  she 
walked  along,  her  face  was  calm  and  placid.  She 
came  at  length  to  the  end  of  the  corridor  and  disap- 
peared quietly  and  deliberately  down  the  stairs.  With 
a  feeling  of  curiosity,  Mark  crossed  over  and  tried  the 
handle  of  Sir  Charles's  door.  To  his  great  surprise  it 
was  locked. 

For  a  little  time  Mark  pondered  over  the  problem. 
As  he  did  so,  his  head  fell  back  and  he  slept.  It  was 
the  sound  sleep  of  the  clean  mind  in  the  healthy  body, 
so  that  when  the  sleeper  came  to  himself  again  it  was 
broad  daylight;  the  hotel  was  full  of  life  and  bustle. 
With  a  sense  of  having  done  a  fearful  thing,  Mark 
looked  at  his  watch.     It  was  ten  minutes  past  eleven ! 

"  This  comes  of  having  no  rest  the  night  before,"  he 
muttered.  "  And  to  think  that  the  fate  of  my  little 
girl  should  be  hanging  in  the  balance !  If  Sir  Charles 
has  gone !  " 

But  Sir  Charles  had  not  gone,  as  one  of  the  waiters 
was  in  a  position  to  assure  Mark.  He  had  not  retired 
to  bed  until  past  three,  and  at  that  time  was  in  a  state 


24  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

of  hilarity  that  promised  a  pretty  fair  headache  in  the 
morning. 

"  Well,  there  is  time  yet,"  Mark  thought,  grimly. 
"  And  Sir  Charles  must  be  moving  by  this  time,  as  the 
wedding  is  to  take  place  at  twelve." 

But  the  minutes  crept  on,  and  it  was  pretty  near  to 
that  hour  when  Sir  Charles's  man  came  down  the  corri- 
dor with  an  anxious  expression  on  his  face.  He  had 
been  hammering  at  the  bedroom  door  without  effect. 

A  sudden  idea  thrilled  Mark,  an  idea  that  he  was 
ashamed  of  almost  before  it  had  come  into  his  mind. 
He  stood  by  idly,  listening.  He  heard  a  clock  some- 
where strike  the  hour  of  midday.  He  stepped  up  to 
the  little  knot  of  waiters. 

"  Why  don't  you  do  something  ? "  he  demanded. 
"  What  is  the  use  of  standing  stupidly  about  here  ? 
Call  the  manager  or  whoever  is  in  attendance.  Break 
down  the  door." 

With  all  his  force  Mark  thrust  himself  against  the 
stout  oak.     The  hinges  yielded  at  last. 


CHAPTER  IV 

BEATRICE  woke  to  the  knowledge  of  her  own  ut- 
ter misery.  Contrary  to  her  anticipation,  she 
had  slept  very  soundly  all  night,  much  as  condemned 
criminals  are  supposed  to  do  on  the  eve  of  execution. 
She  felt  well  and  vigorous  in  herself,  a  brilliant  sun- 
shine was  pouring  into  her  room,  and  all  around  her 
lay  evidences  of  her  coming  slavery.  Here  were  the 
bridal  veil  and  the  long  train,  there  were  the  jewels  laid 
out  on  the  dressing  table.  A  maid  was  moving  quietly 
about  the  room. 

"  Good  morning,  miss,"  she  said.  "  A  lovely  morn- 
ing. And  if  there 's  any  truth  in  the  saying  that 
1  happy  's  the  bride  that  the  sun  shines  on,'  why  — — " 

The  maid  stopped  and  smiled  before  she  caught  sight 
of  Beatrice's  pale,  set  face. 

"  I  suppose  you  think  I  am  to  be  envied  ?  n  Beatrice 
asked.     "  Now  don't  you  ?  " 

The  maid  lifted  her  hands  to  express  her  dumb  ad- 
miration. "  Who  would  not  be  happy  to  be  dressed 
in  those  lovely  clothes,  to  be  decked  in  those  jewels  and 
to  marry  a  man  who  will  give  you  everything  that  the 
heart  could  desire  ?  "     Beatrice  smiled  wearily. 

"  You  are  quite  wrong,  Adeline,"  she  said.  "  If  I 
could  change  places  with  you  at  this  moment  I  would 
gladly  do  so.     You  have  a  sweetheart,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,   miss.     He 's  in  a   shop.     Some  day  he 

hopes  to  have  a  shop  of  his  own,  and  then " 

25 


26  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  And  then  you  will  be  married.  You  love  him  very 
dearly,  I  suppose.     And  I " 

Beatrice  stopped,  conscious  of  the  fact  that  she  was 
saying  too  much.  She  ate  sparingly  enough  of  her 
breakfast;  she  went  down  to  the  drawing-room  and 
wrote  a  few  letters.  It  was  not  quite  ten  yet  and  she 
had  plenty  of  time.  Lady  Rashborough  was  not  an 
early  riser,  though  Rashborough  himself  had  break- 
fasted and  gone  out  long  before.  Beatrice  was  moodily 
contemplating  her  presents  in  the  library  when  Mr. 
Stephen  Richford  was  announced.  He  came  in  with 
an  easy  smile,  though  Beatrice  could  see  that  his  hands 
were  shaking  and  there  was  just  a  suggestion  of  fear  in 
his  eyes.  With  all  his  faults,  the  man  did  not  drink, 
and  Beatrice  wondered.  She  had  once  seen  a  forger 
arrested  on  a  liner,  and  his  expression,  as  soon  as  he 
recognized  his  position,  was  just  the  same  as  Beatrice 
now  saw  in  the  eyes  of  the  man  she  was  going  to  marry. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  she  asked  listlessly.  "  You 
look  as  if  you  had  had  some  great  shock,  like  a  man 
who  has  escaped  from  prison.     Your  face  is  ghastly." 

Richford  made  no  reply  for  a  moment.  He  contem- 
plated his  sullen,  livid  features  in  a  large  Venetian 
mirror  opposite.  He  was  not  a  pretty  object  at  any 
time,  but  he  was  absolutely  repulsive  just  at  that  mo- 
ment. 

"  Bit  of  an  upset,"  he  stammered.  "  Saw  a  —  a 
nasty  street  accident.     Poor  chap  run  over." 

The  man  was  lying  to  her;  absolutely  he  was  forced 
to  the  invention  to  save  himself  from  a  confession  of 
quite  another  kind.  He  was  not  in  the  least  likely  to 
feel  for  anybody  else,  in  fact  he  had  no  feeling  of  hu- 
man kindness,  as  Beatrice  had  once  seen  for  herself. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  27 

There  had  been  a  fatal  accident  at  a  polo  match  under 
their  very  feet,  and  Eichford  had  puffed  at  his  ciga- 
rette and  expressed  the  sentiment  that  if  fools  did  that 
kind  of  thing  they  must  be  prepared  to  put  up  with  the 
consequences. 

"  You  are  not  tellingf  the  truth ! "  Beatrice  said 
coldly.  "  As  if  anything  of  that  kind  would  affect  you. 
You  are  concealing  something  from  me.  Is  it  —  is 
there  anything  the  matter  with  my  father  ?  " 

Richford  started  violently.  With  all  his  self-control 
he  could  not  hold  himself  in  now.  His  white  face  took 
on  a  curious  leaden  hue,  his  voice  was  hoarse  as  he 
spoke. 

"  Of  course  I  have  no  good  points  in  your  eyes,"  he 
said  with  a  thick  sneer.  "  And  once  a  woman  gets  an 
idea  into  her  head  there  is  no  rooting  it  out  again. 
Your  father  is  all  right;  nothing  ever  happens  to  men 
of  that  class.  I  saw  him  to  his  room  last  night,  and 
very  well  he  had  done  for  himself.  Won  over  two  hun- 
dred at  bridge,  too.  Sir  Charles  can  take  care  of  him- 
self." 

Beatrice's  face  flamed  and  then  turned  pale  again. 
She  had  caught  herself  hoping  that  something  had  hap- 
pened to  her  father,  something  sufficiently  serious  to 
postpone  to-day's  ceremony.  It  was  a  dreadfully  un- 
worthy thought  and  Beatrice  was  covered  with  shame. 
And  yet  she  knew  that  she  would  have  been  far  happier 
in  the  knowledge  of  a  disaster  like  that. 

"  Why  did  you  want  to  see  me  ? "  she  asked.  "  I 
have  not  too  much  time  to  spare." 

"  Of  course  not.  But  you  can  cheer  yourself  with 
the  reflection  that  we  shall  have  so  much  time  together 
later  on  when  the  happy  knot  is  tied.     Has  it  occurred 


28  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

to  you  that  I  have  given  you  nothing  as  yet  ?  I  brought 
this  for  you." 

Richford's  hands,  still  trembling,  produced  a  bulky 
package  from  his  pocket.  As  ho  lifted  the  shabby  lid 
a  stream  of  living  fire  flashed  out.  There  were  dia- 
monds of  all  kinds  in  old  settings,  the  finest  diamonds 
that  Beatrice  had  ever  seen.  Ill  at  ease  and  sick  at 
heart  as  she  was,  she  could  not  repress  a  cry. 

"  Ah,  I  thought  I  could  touch  you,"  Kichford 
grinned.  "  A  female  saint  could  not  resist  diamonds. 
Forty  thousand  pounds  I  gave  for  them.  They  are  the 
famous  Rockmartin  gems.  The  family  had  to  part 
with  them,  so  the  opportunity  was  too  good  to  be  lost. 
Well?" 

"  They  are  certainly  exquisitely  lovely,"  Beatrice 
stammered.     "  I  thank  you  very  much." 

"  If  not  very  warmly,  eh  ?  So  that  is  all  you  have  to 
say  ?     Ain't  they  worth  one  single  kiss  %  " 

Beatrice  drew  back.  For  the  life  of  her  she  could 
not  kiss  this  man.  Never  had  his  lips  touched  hers 
yet.  They  should  never  do  so  if  Beatrice  had  her  own 
way. 

"  I  think  not,"  she  said  in  her  cold  constrained  way. 
"  It  is  very  princely  of  you,  and  yet  it  does  not  touch 
me  in  the  least.  You  made  the  bargain  with  your  eyes 
open ;  I  told  you  at  the  time  that  I  could  never  care  for 
you ;  that  I  sold  myself  to  save  my  father's  good  name. 
I  know  the  situation  is  not  a  new  one ;  I  know  that  such 
marriages,  strange  to  say,  have  before  now  turned  out 
to  be  something  like  success.  But  not  ours.  All  the 
heart  I  ever  had  to  bestow  has  long  since  been  given  to 
another.     I  will  do  my  best  to  make  your  life  comforta- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  29 

ble,  I  will  do  my  best  to  learn  all  that  a  wife  is  asked 
to  become.     But  no  more." 

Richford  turned  away  with  a  savage  curse  upon  his 
lips.  The  cold  contempt  struck  him  and  pierced  the 
hide  of  his  indifference  as  nothing  else  could.  But  he 
was  going  to  have  his  revenge.  The  time  was  near  at 
hand  when  Beatrice  would  either  have  to  bend  or  break, 
Richford  did  not  care  which.  It  was  the  only  consola- 
tion that  he  had. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said.  "  We  understand  one  anoth- 
er.    We  shall  see.     Au  revoir!  " 

He  took  up  his  hat  and  his  stick,  and  strode  off  with- 
out a  further  word.  Beatrice  put  the  diamonds  away 
from  her  as  if  they  had  been  so  many  deadly  snakes. 
She  felt  that  she  would  loathe  the  sight  of  diamonds 
for  the  rest  of  her  life. 

The  time  was  drawing  on  now,  it  only  wanted  another 
hour,  and  the  thing  would  be  done.  Lady  Rashborough 
came  in  and  admired  the  diamonds;  in  her  opinion, 
Beatrice  was  the  luckiest  girl  in  London.  Her  lady- 
ship was  a  pretty  little  blue-eyed  thing  adored  by  her 
husband,  but  she  had  no  particle  of  heart.  Why  a  girl 
should  dislike  a  man  who  would  give  her  diamonds  like 
these  she  could  not  possibly  imagine. 

"  You  will  be  wiser  as  you  grow  older,  my  dear,"  she 
said  sapiently.  "  Why  didn't  I  meet  Richford  be- 
fore?" 

Beatrice  echoed  the  sentiment  with  all  her  heart. 
She  resigned  herself  dully  to  the  maid;  she  took  not 
the  slightest  interest  in  the  proceedings;  whether  she 
looked  ill  or  well  mattered  nothing.  But  though  her 
own  natural  beauty  was  not  to  be  dimmed,  and  though 


30  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

she  had  the  aid  of  all  that  art  could  contrive,  nothing 
could  disguise  the  pallor  of  her  face. 

"  A  little  rouge,  miss,"  Adeline  implored.  "  Just  a 
touch  on  your  cheeks.  Your  face  is  like  snow,  and  your 
lips  like  ashes.     I  could  do  it  so  cleverly  that " 

"  That  people  would  never  know,"  Beatrice  said. 
"  I  have  no  doubt  about  it,  Adeline.  But  all  the  same 
I  am  not  going  to  have  any  paint  on  my  face." 

A  big  clock  outside  was  striking  the  three  quarters 
after  eleven ;  already  the  carriage  was  at  the  door.  As 
yet  there  was  no  sign  of  Sir  Charles.  But  perhaps  he 
would  join  the  party  at  the  church,  seeing  that  the  head 
of  the  family  and  not  himself  was  going  to  give  the 
bride  away.  Lord  Eashborough,  a  little  awkward  in 
his  new  frock  coat,  was  fuming  about  the  library.  He 
was  an  open-air  man  and  hated  the  society  into  which 
his  wife  constantly  dragged  him. 

"  Don't  be  too  late,"  he  said.  "  Always  like  to  be 
punctual.  Of  course  that  father  of  yours  has  not 
turned  up,  though  he  promised  to  drive  to  the  church 
with  us." 

"  Father  was  never  known  to  be  in  time  in  his  life," 
Beatrice  said  calmly.  Her  dull  depression  had  gone, 
she  was  feeling  quite  cool  and  tranquil.  If  anybody  had 
asked  her,  she  would  have  said  that  the  bitterness  of 
death  had  passed.  "  It  is  not  necessary  to  wait  for 
him." 

"  He  '11  understand,"  Lord  Rashborough  joined  in. 
"  We  can  leave  a  message,  and  he  can  follow  to  the 
church  in  a  hansom.  Let  us  be  moving,  Beatrice,  if 
you  are  quite  ready." 

With  wonderful  calmness  Beatrice  answered  that  she 
was  quite  ready.     A  little  knot  of  spectators  had  gath- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  31 

ered  outside  to  see  the  bride  depart.  Two  or  three 
carriages  were  there,  and  into  the  first,  with  the  splendid 
pair  of  bays,  Lord  Rashborough  handed  Beatrice. 
They  drove  along  the  familiar  streets  that  seemed  to 
Beatrice  as  though  she  was  seeing  them  for  the  last 
time.  She  felt  like  a  doomed  woman  with  the  deadly 
virus  of  consumption  in  her  blood  when  she  is  being 
ordered  abroad  with  the  uncertain  chance  that  she  might 
never  see  England  again.  It  almost  seemed  to  Beatrice 
that  she  was  asleep,  and  that  the  whole  thing  was  being 
enacted  in  a  dream. 

"  Here  we  are  at  last,"  Rashborough  exclaimed. 
"  What  a  mob  of  women !  What  a  lot  of  flowers ! 
Why  anybody  wants  to  make  all  this  fuss  over  getting 
married  beats  me.     Come  along." 

It  was  a  society  wedding  in  the  highest  sense  of  the 
word,  and  the  church  was  crowded.  There  was  a  rus- 
tle and  a  stir  as  the  bride  swept  up  the  aisle,  and  the 
organ  boomed  out.  There  was  a  little  delay  at  the 
altar,  for  the  father  of  the  bride  had  not  yet  arrived, 
and  there  was  a  disposition  to  give  him  a  little  latitude. 
Only  Lord  Rashborough  rebelled. 

"  Let 's  get  on,"  he  said.  "  Darryll  may  be  half  an 
hour  late.  One  can  never  tell.  And  I  've  got  a  most 
important  appointment  at  Tattersall's  at  half-past  two." 

Beatrice  had  no  objection  to  make  —  she  would  have 
objected  to  nothing  at  that  moment.  In  the  same 
dreamy  way,  presently  she  found  herself  kneeling  at 
the  altar,  and  a  clergyman  was  saying  something  that 
conveyed  absolutely  nothing  to  her  intelligence.  Pres- 
ently somebody  was  fumbling  unsteadily  at  her  left  hand, 
whereon  somebody  a  great  deal  more  nervous  than  she 


32  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

was  trying  to  fix  a  plain  gold  ring.     Someone  at  the 
back  of  the  church  was  making  a  disturbance. 

The  officiating  clergyman  raised  his  head  in  protest. 
Except  the  exhortation,  the  ceremony  was  practically 
finished.  A  policeman  appeared  out  of  somewhere  and 
seemed  to  be  expostulating  with  the  intruder.  Just  for 
a  minute  it  looked  as  if  there  was  going  to  be  an  open 
brawl. 

"  I  tell  you  I  must  go  up,"  somebody  was  saying,  and 
just  for  a  moment  it  seemed  to  Beatrice  that  she  was 
listening  to  the  voice  of  Mark  Ventmore.  "  It  is  a 
matter  of  life  and  death." 

Beatrice  glanced  up  languidly  at  the  silly  society 
faces,  the  frocks  and  the  flowers.  Did  she  dream,  or 
was  that  really  the  pale  face  of  Mark  that  she  saw  ? 
Mark  had  burst  from  the  policeman  —  he  was  standing 
now  hatless  before  the  altar. 

"  The  ceremony  must  not  go  on,"  he  said,  breath- 
lessly. There  was  a  nameless  horror  in  his  white  face. 
"I  —  I  feel  that  I  am  strangely  out  of  place,  but  it  is 
all  too  dreadful." 

Beatrice  rose  to  her  feet  There  was  some  tragedy 
here,  a  tragedy  reflected  in  the  ghastly  face  of  her 
groom.  And  yet  on  his  face  was  a  suggestion  of  relief, 
of  vulgar  triumph. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  Beatrice  asked.  "  Tell  me.  I  could 
bear  anything  —  now  !  " 

"  Your  father !  "  Mark  gasped.  "  We  had  to  burst 
open  his  door.  Sir  Charles  was  found  in  his  bed  quite 
dead.  He  had  been  dead  for  some  hours  when  they 
found  him." 


CHAPTER  V 

MARK  VENTMORE  repeated  his  statement  three 
times  before  anybody  seemed  to  comprehend  the 
dread  meaning  of  his  words.  The  shock  was  so  sud- 
den, so  utterly  unexpected  by  the  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple there.  Of  course  nobody  in  that  brilliant  throng 
had  the  least  idea  of  the  bride's  feelings  in  the  matter, 
most  of  them  were  privileged  guests  for  the  reception. 
They  had  been  bidden  to  a  festive  afternoon,  a  theatre 
had  been  specially  chartered  for  the  evening,  with  a 
dance  to  follow.  This  was  one  of  the  smart  functions 
of  the  season. 

And  now  death  had  stepped  in  and  swept  everything 
away  at  one  breath.  People  looked  at  one  another  as 
if  unable  to  take  in  what  had  happened.  There  was  a 
strange  uneasiness  that  might  have  been  taken  for  dis- 
appointment rather  than  regret.  Perhaps  it  partook 
of  both.  Somebody  a  little  more  thoughtful  than  the 
rest  gave  a  sign  to  the  organist  who  had  begun  to  fill 
the  church  with  a  volume  of  triumphal  music.  The 
silence  that  followed  was  almost  painful. 

Then  as  if  by  common  consent,  every  eye  was  fixed 
upon  the  bride.  Beatrice  had  turned  and  walked  down 
the  altar  steps  in  the  direction  of  Mark,  who  advanced 
now  without  further  opposition.  Beatrice  stood  there 
with  her  hand  to  her  head  as  if  trying  to  understand 
it  all.  She  was  terribly  white,  but  absolutely  com- 
posed. 

3  33 


34  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Did  you  say  that  my  father  was  dead  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  am  afraid  so,"  Mark  stammered.  "  He  —  he 
has  been  dead  for  hours.  I  came  on  here  as  fast  as  I 
could,  hoping  to  be  in  time  to " 

He  paused,  conscious  of  the  fact  that  he  was  about 
to  say  something  terribly  out  of  place.  Just  for  an  in- 
stant Mark  had  forgotten  that  he  and  Beatrice  were  not 
alone.  He  was  looking  into  her  beautiful,  dilated  eyes, 
oblivious  to  the  fact  of  the  spectators.  He  was  going  to 
say  that  he  had  hurried  there  in  the  hopes  of  being  in 
time  to  stop  the  ceremony.  And  Beatrice  had  divined 
it,  for  she  flushed  slightly.  It  seemed  a  terrible  thing, 
but  already  she  had  asked  herself  the  same  question. 
The  shock  of  her  father's  death  had  not  quite  gone 
home  to  her  yet,  and  she  could  still  think  about  herself. 
Was  she  really  married  to  Stephen  Richford  ?  Was 
the  ceremony  legally  completed  ?  The  thought  was  out 
of  place,  but  there  it  was.  A  mist  rose  before  the  girl's 
eyes,  her  heart  beat  painfully  fast. 

"  Don  't  you  think  we  ought  to  do  something  ?  "  Mark 
asked. 

The  question  startled  Beatrice  out  of  her  stupor. 
She  was  ready  for  action.  It  was  as  if  a  stream  of  cold 
water  had  been  poured  over  her. 

"  Of  course,"  she  cried.  "  It  is  wrong  to  stand 
here.     Take  me  home  at  once,  Mark." 

It  was  a  strange  scene  strangely  carried  out.  The 
bridegroom  stood  irresolute  by  the  altar,  feeling  nerv- 
ously at  his  gloves,  whilst  Beatrice,  with  all  her  wed- 
ding finery  about  her,  clutched  Mark  by  the  arm  and 
hurried  him  down  the  aisle.  The  whole  thing  was 
done,  and  the  strangely  assorted  pair  had  vanished  be- 
fore the  congregation  recovered  from  their  surprise. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  35 

"  Come  back !  "  Richford  exclaimed.  "  Surely  it  ia 
my  place  to  — > — " 

Long  before  Richford  could  reach  the  porch,  his  wife 
and  Mark  had  entered  a  hansom  and  were  on  their  way 
to  the  Royal  Palace  Hotel.  The  story  had  got  about 
by  this  time;  people  stopped  to  stare  at  the  man  in 
tweeds  and  the  bride  in  her  full  array  in  the  hansom. 
To  those  two  it  did  not  seem  in  the  least  strange. 

"  Did  you  manage  to  see  my  father,  after  all  ?  "  Bea- 
trice asked. 

"  No,  I  tried  to  do  so ;  you  see,  I  had  to  wait  for  him. 
He  was  very  late,  so  I  fell  asleep.  It  was  after  eleven 
to-day  when  I  awoke  to  find  Sir  Charles  had  not  left 
his  room.  I  ventured  to  suggest  that  he  had  better  be 
roused  or  he  would  be  too  late  for  your  wedding.  No- 
body could  make  him  hear,  so  the  door  was  broken  in. 
He  was  quite  dead." 

Beatrice  listened  in  a  dull  kind  of  way.  There  was 
no  trace  of  tears  in  her  eyes.  She  had  suffered  so  ter- 
ribly, lately,  that  she  could  not  cry.  The  horrible 
doubt  as  to  whether  she  was  free  or  not  could  not  be 
kept  out  of  her  mind.  Yet  it  seemed  so  dreadfully  un- 
natural. 

"  He  died  in  his  sleep,  I  suppose  ? "  Beatrice  asked. 

"  That  nobody  can  say  yet,"  Mark  said.  "  The  doc- 
tor we  called  in  was  very  guarded.  Nobody  seems  to 
have  been  in  the  bedroom,  though  the  sitting-room  ad- 
joining is  not  locked,  and  last  night  I  saw  a  lady  come 
out  of  it,  a  lady  in  grey." 

"  A  lady  in  grey !  "  Beatrice  cried.  "  What  a  singu- 
lar thing,  Mark !  Do  you  mean  to  say  it  was  the  same 
lady  who  sat  next  to  you  in  the  Paris  theatre  ?  " 

"  Well,  yes,"  Mark  admitted.     "  It  was  the  same. 


36        .       THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

I  have  not  told  anybody  but  you,  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  nothing  will  be  gained  by  mentioning  the  fact." 

Beatrice  nodded  thoughtfully.  She  could  not  iden- 
tify the  grey  lady,  the  Slave  of  Silence,  with  any- 
thing that  was  wrong.  And  yet  it  was  strange  how  that 
silent  woman  had  come  into  her  life.  She  must  have 
been  known  to  Sir  Charles  or  she  would  never  have  ven- 
tured into  his  sitting-room.  If  she  was  still  staying  in 
the  hotel,  Beatrice  made  up  her  mind  to  seek  her  out. 
There  was  some  strange  mystery  here  that  must  be  ex- 
plained. It  was  uppermost  in  Beatrice's  mind  as  she 
descended  from  the  hansom  and  passed  through  the 
curious  group  of  servants  into  the  hall. 

The  fine  suite  of  rooms  was  ready  for  the  fes- 
tive throng;  in  the  dining-room  a  banquet  had  been 
spread  out.  The  scarlet  flush  of  red  roses  gave  a  warm 
note  to  the  room;  the  sun  came  streaming  through  the 
stained-glass  windows,  and  shone  upon  the  silver  and 
glass  and  red  glow  of  wine,  and  on  the  gold  foil  of  the 
champagne  bottles.  In  the  centre  of  the  table  stood  a 
great  white  tower  that  Beatrice  regarded  vaguely  as  her 
wedding  cake.  A  shudder  passed  over  her  as  she  looked 
at  it.  She  longed  for  something  dark  and  sombre,  to 
hide  her  diamonds  and  the  sheen  of  her  ivory  satin 
dress. 

The  place  was  silent  now;  the  very  bareness  and  deso- 
lation of  the  scene  sickened  Beatrice  to  the  soul.  No 
guests  were  here  now  —  they  were  not  likely  to  be.  A 
polite  manager  was  saying  something  to  the  bride,  but 
she  did  not  seem  to  heed. 

"  Mr.  Marius  is  talking  to  you,"  Mark  said.  "  He 
wants  to  know  if  he  can  do  anything." 

"  Mr.  Marius  is  very  kind,"  Beatrice  said  wearily. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  37 

"  I  should  like  to  see  the  doctor.  I  suppose  that  he  is 
still  here  ?     May  I  see  him  at  once  ?  " 

The  doctor  had  not  gone  yet.  Mark  procured  a  small 
plate  of  dainty  sandwiches  and  a  glass  of  port  wine 
which  he  forced  Beatrice  to  take.  To  his  great  sur- 
prise she  found  that  she  was  hungry.  Breakfast  she  had 
had  none;  now  that  the  crisis  had  passed,  her  natural 
healthy  appetite  had  returned.  The  feeling  of  faint- 
ness  that  she  had  struggled  against  for  so  long  passed 
away. 

The  doctor  came  in,  rubbing  his  hands  softly  together. 
He  regretted  the  unfortunate  occasion,  but  when  he  had 
been  called  in,  Sir  Charles  was  long  past  mortal  aid. 
Evidently  he  had  been  dead  for  some  hours. 

"  You  are  in  a  position  to  be  quite  sure  of  that  ?  " 
Beatrice  asked. 

"  Oh,  quite,"  Dr.  Andrews  replied.  "  One's  experi- 
ence tells  that.  Sir  Charles  was  quite  stiff  and  cold. 
I  should  say  that  he  had  been  dead  quite  four  hours 
when  the  door  was  broken  down." 

Just  for  an  instant  the  doctor  hesitated  and  his  easy 
manner  deserted  him.  ■ 

"  I  must  see  Sir  Charles's  regular  medical  man  before 
I  can  be  quite  definite  on  that  point,"  he  said.  "  I  have 
no  doubt  that  death  was  caused  by  natural  means,  at 
least  I  see  no  reason  at  present  to  believe  anything  to 
the  contrary.  Indeed,  if  any  doubt  remains  after  that, 
there  must  be  a  post  mortem,  of  course.  But  still  I 
hope  that  such  a  course  will  not  be  necessary." 

In  a  vague  way  Beatrice  felt  uneasy.  If  this  gen- 
tleman was  not  actually  concealing  something,  he  was 
not  quite  so  satisfied  as  he  assumed  to  be. 


38  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  I  should  like  to  see  my  father,  if  I  may,"  Beatrice 
said  quietly. 

The  doctor  led  the  way  to  the  bedroom  and  closed  the 
door  softly  behind  the  girl.  His  face  was  a  little  grave 
and  anxious  as  he  walked  down  the  stairs. 

"  You  appear  to  be  a  friend  of  the  family,"  he  said 
to  Mark  as  he  stood  in  the  hall.  "  There  are  symp- 
toms about  the  case  which  frankly  I  don  't  like.  There 
was  no  occasion  to  lacerate  Miss  DarrylPs  feelings  un- 
duly, but  I  must  see  the  family  doctor  at  once.  It  is 
just  possible  that  you  may  happen  to  know  who  he  is." 

Mark  was  in  a  position  to  supply  the  desired  infor- 
mation, and  Dr.  Andrews  drove  off,  his  face  still  very 
grave  and  thoughtful.  Meanwhile  Beatrice  found  her- 
self alone  with  the  dead  body  of  her  father.  He  was 
only  partially  undressed ;  he  lay  on  the  bed  as  if  he  had 
been  overcome  with  a  sudden  illness  or  fatigue.  The 
handsome  boyish  features  were  quite  composed;  there 
was  a  smile  on  the  lips,  and  yet  the  expression  on  the 
face  was  one  of  pain.  Sir  Charles  appeared  to  have 
died  as  he  had  lived  —  gay,  careless,  and  easy  to  the 
last.  Always  neat,  he  had  placed  his  studs  and  tie  on 
the  dressing-table ;  by  them  stood  a  little  pile  of  letters 
which  had  evidently  come  by  a  recent  post.  They  had 
been  carefully  cut  open  with  a  penknife,  so  that  Bea- 
trice could  see  they  had  been  read. 

There  were  tears  in  the  girl's  eyes  now,  for  Beatrice 
recalled  the  time  when  Sir  Charles  had  been  a  good 
father  to  her  in  the  days  before  he  had  dissipated  his 
fortune  and  started  out  with  the  intention  of  winning 
it  back  in  the  city.  Those  had  been  happy  hours,  Bea- 
trice reflected. 

There  was  nothing  further  in  the  room  to  call  for 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  39 

notice.  On  the  carpet,  in  contrast  to  the  crimson 
ground,  lay  what  looked  like  a  telegram.  It  was  half 
folded,  but  there  was  no  mistaking  the  grey  paper.  If 
there  was  anything  wrong  here,  perhaps  the  telegram 
would  throw  a  light  on  it.  Beatrice  picked  up  the  mes- 
sage and  flattened  it  on  her  hand.  Then  she  read  it 
with  a  puzzled  face.  Suddenly  a  flash  of  illumination 
came  upon  her.  Her  hand  clenched  the  paper  passion- 
ately. 

"  Is  it  possible,"  she  muttered,  "  that  he  could  have 
known  ?  And  yet  the  date  and  the  day !  Why,  that 
coward  must  have  known  all  the  time." 

A  glance  at  the  dead,  placid  face  there  recalled  Bea- 
trice to  herself.  Hastily  she  thrust  the  message  in  her 
corsage  and  quietly  left  the  room.  Some  time  had 
elapsed  since  Beatrice  entered  the  hotel,  but  a,s  yet  the 
man  she  called  her  husband  had  not  returned.  It 
seemed  strange,  but  Beatrice  said  nothing.  She  stood 
regarding  her  wedding  finery  with  some  feeling  of  dis- 
gust. 

"  I  must  have  a  room  somewhere  and  change,"  she 
said ;  "  it  seems  horrible  to  be  walking  about  like  this 
when  my  father  is  lying  dead  upstairs.  Mark,  my 
woman  is  here  somewhere.  Will  you  try  and  find  her 
and  send  her  to  Lady  Rashborough  for  something  black 
and  quite  plain  ?  Meanwhile,  I  '11  go  to  a  bedroom  and 
get  some  of  this  finery  off.  The  mere  touch  of  it  fills 
me  with  loathing." 

Beatrice's  maid  was  discovered  at  length,  and  de- 
spatched in  hot  haste  to  Lady  Rashborough's.  Beatrice 
had  scarcely  entered  before  Stephen  Richford  drove  up. 
He  looked  anxious  and  white  and  sullen  withal,  and  he 
favoured  Mark  with  a  particularly  malevolent  scowl. 


40  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Richford  knew  the  relationship  that  had  existed  at  one 
time  between  Mark  and  Beatrice. 

"  I  suppose  you  must  be  excused  under  the  circum- 
stances for  racing  off  with  my  wife  in  this  fashion,"  he 
said  hoarsely.  It  seemed  to  Mark  that  he  had  found 
time  to  drink  somewhere,  though,  as  a  rule,  that  was 
not  one  of  Richford's  failings.     "  Where  is  she  8  " 

"  She  has  gone  to  change,"  Mark  said.  "  This  is  a 
very  unfortunate  business,  Mr.  Richford." 

Richford  shrugged  his  shoulders  with  an  assumption 
of  indifference.     His  hand  trembled  slightly. 

"  Sir  Charles  was  getting  on  in  years,"  he  said ;  "  and 
Sir  Charles  had  not  troubled  to  give  very  great  attention 
to  the  question  of  his  health.  In  fact,  Sir  Charles  had 
gone  it  steadily.  But  it  seems  now  to  me  that  so  long 
as  the  doctors  are  satisfied  as  to  the  cause  of  death " 

"  I  am  not  at  all  sure  the  doctor  is  satisfied,"  Mark 
said  significantly.     "  What 's  the  matter  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  nothing,"  Richford  stammered.  "  Noth- 
ing more  than  a  twinge  of  that  confounded  neuralgia 
of  mine." 


CHAPTER  VI 

BEATRICE  came  down  from  her  room  presently, 
dressed  in  quiet  black.  In  her  hand  she  carried 
not  only  the  telegram  but  a  letter  she  had  taken  from 
the  dressing-table  of  the  dead  man. 

The  little  group  in  the  hall  had  by  this  time  been 
augmented  by  the  presence  of  Colonel  Berrington; 
Stephen  Richford  had  slipped  off  somewhere.  Mark 
had  not  failed  to  notice  the  restlessness  and  agitation  of 
his  manner. 

"  I  think  I  have  got  rid  of  everybody,"  Berrington 
said.  "  It  has  been  a  most  distressing  business,  and  I 
am  afraid  that  there  is  worse  to  come.  Dr.  Andrews 
has  just  telephoned.  He  has  seen  Sir  Charles's  medical 
man,  and  they  have  decided  that  there  must  be  an  in- 
quest. I  don't  suggest  that  anything  is  wrong,  but 
there  you  are." 

"  I  am  not  surprised,"  Beatrice  said  coldly,  "  I  have 
been  to  my  father's  room  looking  over  his  papers.  And 
I  found  a  letter  that  puzzles  me.  It  was  written  last 
night  as  the  date  shows,  in  the  hotel,  on  hotel  paper, 
and  evidently  delivered  by  hand,  as  the  envelope  proves. 
Look  at  this." 

Colonel  Berrington  held  out  his  hand  for  the  envel- 
ope. He  started  slightly  as  he  looked  at  the  neat,  clear 
handwriting.  Something  was  evidently  wrong  here, 
Mark  thought.  The  Colonel  was  a  man  of  courage,  as 
he  very  well  knew,  and  yet  his  fingers  trembled  as  he 

41 


42  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

glanced  interrogatively  at  Beatrice  before  he  drew  the 
letter  from  the  envelope. 

"  Yes,"  Beatrice  said ;  "  I  want  you  to  read  it.  I 
brought  it  down  on  purpose." 

"  There  does  not  seem  to  be  much,"  Berrington  said. 
"  As  there  is  no  heading  and  signature,  the  letter  may 
be  intended  for  anybody." 

"  Only  my  father's  name  happens  to  be  on  the  en- 
velope," Beatrice  said  quietly.     "  Pray  read  it  aloud." 

Berrington  proceeded  to  do  so.  There  were  only 
two  or  three  lines  in  which  the  writer  said  that  she  must 
see  the  recipient  of  the  letter  without  delay,  and  that 
it  was  of  no  use  to  try  and  keep  out  of  the  way.  There 
was  nothing  more;  no  threat  or  sign  of  anger,  nothing 
to  signify  that  there  was  any  feeling  at  all.  And  yet 
so  much  might  have  been  concealed  behind  those  simple 
lines.  Berrington  looked  grave,  and  trembled  as  he 
handed  the  letter  back  to  Beatrice. 

"  Clearly  it  is  our  duty  to  find  out  who  wrote  that 
letter,"  Mark  observed.  "  It  was  written  in  the  hotel, 
probably  by  somebody  dining  here  last  night.  It  is 
just  possible  that  it  was  written  by  someone  who  was 
staying  in  the  hotel.  In  that  case  we  can  easily  ascer- 
tain the  name  of  the  writer." 

"  How  is  that  possible  ?  "  Berrington  demanded. 
He  asked  the  question  quite  nervously.  "  In  a  place 
so  large  as  this,  with  so  many  visitors  continually  going 


and  coming — ' — " 

"  There  is  a  rigid  rule  here,"  Mark  proceeded  to  ex- 
plain. "  Every  guest,  even  if  only  passing  a  single 
night  under  the  roof,  has  to  sign  the  visitors'  book. 
With  this  letter  in  my  hand  I  can  compare  signatures. 
If  there  is  no  signature  like  this  characteristic  hand- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  43 

writing,  then  our  task  is  no  easy  one.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  there  is 

The  speaker  paused  significantly.  Berrington's  agi- 
tation deepened.  With  all  her  distress  and  sorrow, 
Beatrice  did  not  fail  to  notice  it. 

"  Perhaps  you  will  go  down  to  the  office  and  see  at 
once,  Mark,"  Beatrice  suggested. 

Ventmore  went  off  obediently  enough.  Berrington 
stood  watching  him  for  a  moment,  then  he  turned  to 
Beatrice  and  laid  his  hand  gently  on  her  arm. 

"  Believe  me,  this  is  not  going  to  help  anybody,"  he 
said  in  a  low  voice.  "  Unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken,  I 
know  who  wrote  that  letter.  What  connection  she  had 
with  your  father  and  what  the  secret  was  between 
them  I  shall  perhaps  never  know.  But  the  lady  who 
wrote  that  letter  — — 

"  Ah,"  Beatrice  cried,  with  a  flash  of  sudden  inspira- 
tion, "  it  was  the  grey  lady,  I  am  sure  of  it." 

"  You  have  guessed  correctly,"  Berrington  went  on. 
"  It  was  the  person  whom  you  have  elected  to  call  the 
grey  lady.  It  was  a  great  shock  to  me  to  recognize  that 
handwriting.  The  secret  is  not  wholly  mine  to  tell, 
but  for  a  long  time  I  have  been  seeking  the  grey  lady. 
I  had  not  the  remotest  idea  that  she  and  Sir  Charles 
had  anything  in  common ;  little  did  I  dream  that 
she  was  here  in  this  hotel  last  night.  But  whatever 
may  be  the  meaning  of  this  mystery,  if  there  has  been 
foul  play  here,  the  grey  lady  is  quite  innocent  of  it. 
Don't  ask  me  to  say  any  more,  because  I  cannot,  I  dare 
not.  " 

Beatrice  nodded  in  sympathy.  The  brave,  grave  sol- 
dier by  her  side  was  terribly  agitated;  indeed  Beatrice 


44  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

could  not  have  recognized  him  as  being  capable  of  such 
a  display  of  emotion. 

"  I  am  going  to  believe  in  you  both,"  she  said. 
"  Probably  the  grey  lady  was  the  last  person  to  see  my 
father  alive.  She  may  have  told  him  some  terrible 
news;  she  may  have  given  him  the  shock  that  killed 
him.     But  there  was  another  who  knew " 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  "  Berrington  asked. 

"  Nothing.  I  have  said  too  much.  That  is  quite 
between  myself  and  —  and  could  possibly  have  had 
nothing  to  do  with  my  father's  death.  Oh,  if  only 
Mark  had  arrived  five  minutes  sooner !  " 

Berrington  knew  exactly  what  was  passing  through 
Beatrice's  mind. 

"  A  great  pity,  indeed,"  he  said  quietly.  "  What  a 
difference  moments  make  in  our  lives.     Still " 

"  Still  there  is  always  the  doubt,"  Beatrice  whispered 
eagerly.  A  constant  throng  of  people  passed  through 
the  great  hall  where  the  death  of  Sir  Charles  was  al- 
ready forgotten.  "  I  am  living  on  the  doubt,  Colonel 
Berrington;  am  I  or  am  I  not  married  to  Stephen 
Richford  ? " 

"  I  could  not  say,"  Berrington  replied.  "  I  have 
very  little  knowledge  of  these  matters.  As  far  as  I 
could  see,  the  marriage  ceremony  was  completed,  the 
ring  was  placed  on  your  finger,  therefore " 

"  Therefore  you  think  that  I  am  married,"  Beatrice 
said.  She  was  twisting  the  gold  badge  of  servitude  on 
her  finger  nervously.  "  I  am  going  to  find  out  for 
certain.  The  service  was  not  quite  finished ;  there  was 
no  exhortation,  there  was  no  signing  of  the  register. 
Surely  I  am  free  if  it  is  my  desire  to  be  free.  After 
what  I  found  to-day " 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  45 

Again  Beatrice  paused  as  if  aware  of  the  fact  that 
she  was  saying  too  much.  There  was  a  certain  expres- 
sion of  relief  on  her  face  as  she  saw  the  figure  of  Mark 
approaching. 

"  Well,  have  you  done  anything  ?  "  she  asked  eagerly. 
"  Have  you  made  any  great  discovery  ?  " 

"  I  have  only  been  partially  successful,"  Mark  said. 
"  I  have  identified  the  writing  with  a  signature  of  a 
guest  in  the  visitors'  book.  The  lady  came  only  yes- 
terday, as  the  date  is  opposite  her  writing.  She  came 
without  a  maid  and  with  very  little  luggage,  and  she 
called  herself  Mrs.  Beacon  Light." 

"  Beacon  Light,"  Beatrice  said  reflectively.  "  It 
sounds  like  a  norm  de  plume;  it  suggests  the  kind  of 
name  a  lady  novelist  would  assume.  Too  singular  to 
be  real.  And  are  you  quite  sure  that  the  lady  wrote 
that  letter  to  my  father  ?  " 

"  I  should  say  there  is  very  little  doubt  about  it," 
Mark  replied.  "  The  handwritings  are  identical.  It 
seems  that  Mrs.  Beacon  Light  stayed  here  last  night 
and  dined  in  the  red  salon.  She  had  breakfast  here 
very  early,  and  then  she  paid  her  bill  and  departed. 
The  clerk  cannot  say  where  she  went,  for  her  small 
amount  of  baggage  was  placed  in  a  hansom  and  the 
driver  was  told  to  go  in  the  first  instance  to  Peter 
Robinson's.  That  is  everything  that  I  could  ascer- 
tain." 

There  was  no  more  to  be  said  for  the  present,  and 
very  little  to  be  done.  A  tall,  stiff  man,  with  an  air  of 
Scotland  Yard  indelibly  impressed  upon  him,  came 
presently,  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to  see  Sir  Charles's 
suite  of  rooms.  He  had  been  waited  upon  at  his  office, 
he  explained,  by  the  deceased  baronet's  medical  man, 


46  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

who  had  suggested  the  necessity  for  an  inquest,  which 
had  been  fixed  upon  for  ten  o'clock  the  following  day. 
Under  the  circumstances  the  suite  of  rooms  would  be 
locked  up  and  the  seal  of  authority  placed  on  them. 
The  inspector  was  sincerely  sorry  to  cause  all  this 
trouble  and  worry  to  Miss  Darryll,  but  she  would  quite 
see  that  he  was  doing  no  more  than  his  duty. 

"But  why  all  this  fuss?"  Stephen  Eichford  de- 
manded. He  had  come  up  at  the  same  moment. 
Troubled  and  dazed  as  Beatrice  was,  she  could  not 
help  noticing  that  Richford  had  been  drinking.  The 
thing  was  so  unusual  that  it  stood  out  all  the  more 
glaringly.  "  There  's  no  occasion  for  an  inquest.  Dr. 
Oswin  has  told  me  more  than  once  lately  that  Sir 
Charles  was  giving  his  heart  a  great  deal  too  much  to 
do.     This  thing  has  got  to  be  prevented,  I  tell  you." 

"  Very  sorry,  sir,"  the  inspector  said  politely ;  "  but 
it  is  already  out  of  private  hands.  Both  Dr.  Oswin 
and  Dr.  Andrews  have  suggested  an  inquest;  they  have 
notified  us,  and,  if  they  wished  to  change  their  minds 
now,  I  doubt  if  my  chief  would  permit  them." 

Richford  seemed  to  be  on  the  point  of  some  passion- 
ate outburst,  but  he  checked  himself.  He  laid  his  hand 
more  or  less  familiarly  on  Beatrice's  arm,  and  she 
could  feel  his  fingers  trembling. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said  sulkily.  "  If  you  have  made 
up  your  minds  as  to  this  course,  I  have  no  more  to  say. 
But  there  is  nothing  to  gain  by  standing  here  all  day. 
Beatrice,  I  have  something  to  say  to  you." 

"  I  am  quite  ready,"  Beatrice  said.  "  I  have  also 
something  to  say  to  you.  We  will  go  on  as  far  as  my 
sitting-room.  Please  don't  leave  the  hotel,  Colonel 
Berrington ;  I  may  want  you  again." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  47 

The  hard  corners  of  Eichford' s  mouth  trembled,  but 
he  said  nothing.  He  did  not  utter  a  word  until  the 
door  of  the  sitting-room  had  closed  upon  Beatrice  and 
himself.  He  motioned  the  girl  to  a  chair,  but  she  ig- 
nored the  suggestion. 

"  It  is  a  very  awkward  situation,"  Eichford  began. 
"  As  my  wife " 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  come  so  quickly  to  the  point," 
Beatrice  said  eagerly.  "  Am  I  your  wife  ?  I  doubt 
it.  I  do  not  think  I  am  your  wife,  because  the  cere- 
mony was  not  quite  completed  and  we  did  not  sign 
the  register.  You  know  what  my  feelings  have  been 
all  along;  I  have  never  made  the  slightest  attempt  to 
disguise  them.  If  I  had  known  that  my  father  was 
dead  — •  that  he  had  died  on  the  way  to  church,  I 
should  never  have  become  Mrs.  Stephen  Eichford.  To 
save  my  father's  good  name  I  had  consented  to  this 
sacrifice.  My  father  is  dead  beyond  the  reach  of 
trouble.     If  I  had  only  known.     If  I  had  only  known !  " 

The  words  came  with  a  fierce  whisper.  They  stung 
the  listener  as  no  outburst  of  contempt  or  scorn  could. 
They  told  him  clearly  how  the  speaker  loathed  and 
despised  him. 

"  Nobody  did  know,"  he  sneered.  "  Nobody  could 
possibly  have  known." 

"  That  is  not  true,"  Beatrice  cried.  She  had  come 
a  little  closer  to  Eichford ;  her  cheeks  were  blazing  with 
anger,  her  eyes  flamed  passionately.  "  It  is  a  cowardly 
lie.  There  was  one  man  who  saw  my  father  after  his 
death,  and  I  am  going  to  prove  the  fact  in  a  way  that 
cannot  possibly  be  disputed.  One  man  was  in  my 
father's  room  after  his  death.  That  man  saw  my 
father  lying  there,  and  he  crept  away  without  giving 


48  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

the  slightest  alarm.  You  may  sneer,  you  may  say  that 
such  a  thing  is  impossible,  that  the  man  I  allude  to 
would  have  nothing  to  gain  by  such  a  course ;  but  as  I 
said  before,  I  am  going  to  prove  it.  Look  at  this  tele- 
gram I  hold  in  my  hand.  It  was  sent  before  ten  o'clock 
to-day  to  the  person  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  It  evi- 
dently relates  to  some  Stock  Exchange  business.  The 
address  is  quite  clear;  the  time  the  telegram  was  de- 
livered is  quite  clear,  too;  and  by  the  side  of  my 
father's  body  I  found  the  telegram,  which  could  only 
have  been  dropped  there  by  the  party  to  whom  it  was 
addressed.  So  that  party  knew  that  my  father  was 
dead,  and  that  party  made  no  alarm.     Why  ?  " 

"  Why,"  Richford  stammered.  "  Why,  because, — ■ 
well,  you  see  it  is  quite  possible  to  explain " 

"  It  is  not,"  Beatrice  cried.  "  The  telegram  is  ad- 
dressed to  you.  It  was  you  who  called  on  my  father ; 
you  who  found  him  dead.  And  in  your  agitation  you 
dropped  that  message.  Then  you  grasped  the  fact  that 
if  the  marriage  was  postponed  it  would  never  take 
place,  that  I  was  in  a  position  to  defy  you.  You 
locked  my  father's  door;  you  said  nothing;  you  made 
up  your  mind  to  let  the  ceremony  go  on.  That  ac- 
counts for  your  agitation,  for  the  fact  that  you  have 
been  drinking.  Cowardly  scoundrel,  what  have  you  to 
say  to  this !  " 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ? "  Richford  asked 
sullenly. 

"  Unless  you  release  me  here  and  now,"  Beatrice 
cried,  "  I  swear  by  Heaven  that  I  am  going  to  tell  the 
truth!" 


"Richford  stood  there  shaking  and  quivering  with  passion." 
Page  49. 


CHAPTER  VII 

RICHFORD  stood  there  shaking  and  quivering  with 
passion,  and  yet  not  free  from  the  vague  terror 
that  Beatrice  had  noticed  all  along.  Beatrice  could 
not  repress  a  shudder  as  she  looked  at  that  evil,  scowl- 
ing face.  To  be  with  that  man  always,  to  share  his 
home  and  his  company,  seemed  to  her  a  most  impossible 
thing.  She  had  lost  her  father;  the  future  was  black 
and  hopeless  before  her,  but  she  felt  a  strength  and 
courage  now,  that  she  had  been  a  stranger  to  for  a  long 
time.  There  was  hope,  too,  which  is  a  fine  thing  when 
allied  with  youth  and  vitality. 

She  need  not  live  with  this  man ;  she  had  every  excuse 
for  not  doing  so.  Beatrice  cared  very  little,  for  the 
moment,  whether  she  was  married  or  not.  It  might 
possibly  be  that  in  the  eyes  of  the  law  she  was  this 
man's  wife;  the  law  might  compel  her  to  share  his 
home.  But  now  Beatrice  had  a  weapon  in  her  hand 
and  she  knew  how  to  use  it. 

"  Give  me  that  telegram,"  Richford  said  hoarsely. 
"  Hand  it  over  to  me  at  once." 

He  advanced  in  a  manner  that  was  distinctly 
threatening.  Certainly  he  would  not  have  stopped  at 
violence  if  violence  would  serve  his  end.  But  Beatrice 
was  not  afraid. 

"  I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  she  said.  "  You 
may  as  well  strike  me  as  look  at  me  like  that  If  you 
use  violence  you  may  obtain  possession  of  the  telegram. 

49 


50  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

But  I  warn  you  that  I  shall  not  yield  without  a 
struggle  that  will  arouse  the  whole  hotel.  I  am  not 
coming  with  you,  and  we  part  here  and  now.  Oh,  I 
am  not  in  the  least  afraid." 

Just  at  that  moment  it  looked  as  if  the  scene  of  vio- 
lence would  take  place.  With  an  oath  Richford 
grasped  the  girl  by  the  wrist  and  drew  her  to  him.  A 
blow  full  in  the  face  would  have  laid  her  senseless  at 
his  feet,  then  he  could  have  helped  himself  to  that 
priceless  telegram.  But  Richford  had  been  in  the 
world  long  enough  to  knew  how  to  control  his  temper 
when  it  suited  him  to  do  so.  He  forced  something  in 
the  semblance  of  a  smile  to  his  lips. 

"  Don't  let  us  discuss  this  question  like  two  silly 
children,"  he  said.  "  You  have  fairly  caught  me  out. 
I  did  go  to  your  father  this  morning  —  there  was  an 
urgent  reason  why  I  should  see  him.  We  need  not  go 
into  that  now,  for  it  was  purely  on  matters  of  business. 
If  you  ask  me  how  I  got  into  that  room  when  the  door 
was  locked,  I  will  tell  you.  Before  I  thought  of  marry- 
ing you  and  setting  up  a  house  of  my  own,  I  had  that 
suite  of  rooms." 

"  Is  all  this  material  to  our  discussion  ? "  Beatrice 
asked  coldly. 

"  Yes,  I  think  so.  At  any  rate  I  never  gave  up  the 
suite  of  rooms,  and  the  keys  are  still  in  my  possession. 
That  is  how  I  got  in  to  see  your  father  without  any- 
body being  the  wiser.  I  was  going  to  show  him  the 
very  telegram  which  has  fallen  into  your  hands.  But 
I  found  that  Sir  Charles  was  dead,  and  it  was  a  great 
shock  to  me.  I  must  have  dropped  that  telegram  in  my 
agitation  and  forgotten  it.  So  far  you  follow  me,  do 
you  not  ? " 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  51 

"  I  follow  you,"  Beatrice  said  bitterly.  "  I  quite 
understand ;  I  admire  your  restraint  and  your  cunning. 
You  reasoned  it  all  out  in  a  flash.  If  you  raised  the 
alarm  everybody  would  have  known  the  truth  in  a  few 
minutes.  And,  that  being  so,  there  would  have  been 
no  marriage.  You  took  all  the  risks,  and  fortune  fa- 
voured the  bold  as  fortune  always  does.  Nothing  hap- 
pened until  it  was  too  late,  and  I  was  married  to  you. 
But  there  is  one  thing  you  failed  to  reckon  upon  — 
that  my  father  is  no  longer  a  pawn  in  the  game." 

Beatrice  was  speaking  quietly  and  steadily  enough; 
she  felt  that  the  victory  was  in  her  hands  now.  And 
Richford  had  never  coveted  her  so  passionately  as  he 
did  at  this  moment  when  he  realized  that  she  was  lost 
to  him  for  ever. 

"  My  father's  death  leaves  me  free,"  the  girl  went 
on.  "  He  is  dead  and  nobody  can  touch  him.  If  he 
had  died  yesterday  the  match  would  have  been  broken 
off,  as  you  know.  I  was  prepared  to  take  my  chance. 
If  this  vile  thing  had  not  happened,  then  I  should  have 
respected  my  wedding  vows  and  made  you  as  good  a 
wife  as  I  could.  I  should  have  hated  and  loathed  it, 
but  I  should  have  become  accustomed  to  it  in  time. 
But  this  vile  action  of  yours  makes  all  the  difference. 
When  you  and  I  part  after  this  painful  conversation, 
we  part  for  good.  We  shall  be  talked  about ;.  there  will 
be  a  lot  of  idle  gossip,  but  I  care  nothing  for  that. 
And  if  you  raise  a  hand,  if  you  try  to  use  the  law  on 
your  side,  I  produce  that  telegram  and  tell  my  story." 

Again  the  look  of  mingled  rage  and  terror  came  into 
Richford's  eyes. 

"  You  talk  like  a  fool,"  he  said  hoarsely.  "  What 
can  you  possibly  do  to  get  a  living  ?     You  are  my  wife ; 


52  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

you  can  never  marry  anybody  so  long  as  I  am  alive. 
You  are  very  pretty,  but  you  have  been  brought  up  to 
be  utterly  useless." 

"  I  have  strength  and  courage,"  Beatrice  replied, 
"  and  they  are  worth  a  good  deal.  I  can  go  into  a  shop 
if  the  worst  comes  to  the  worst.  My  relatives,  the 
Rashboroughs  — — " 

"  Lady  Rashborough  will  turn  her  back  on  you  if 
you  do  this.     She  will  be  furious." 

"  Well,  then,  I  must  depend  upon  myself.  But  you 
are  not  going  to  say  anything  —  for  some  reason  you 
are  too  frightened  to  say  anything." 

"  And  all  the  wedding  presents,  the  diamonds  and 
the  like  ? "  Richford  asked  feebly. 

"  The  wedding  presents  will  go  back  to  the  senders. 
There  is  a  plain  clothes  policeman  keeping  guard  over 
them  now  —  your  diamonds  are  amongst  the  lot.  I 
will  see  that  they  are  safely  sent  to  you.  And  I  do  not 
know  that  I  need  say  any  more." 

Beatrice  had  reached  the  corridor  by  this  time.  She 
was  passing  Richford  with  her  head  in  the  air.  It 
came  to  him  suddenly  that  he  had  lost  everything,  that 
he  was  baffled  and  beaten.  In  a  sudden  spasm  of  rage 
he  caught  the  girl  by  the  shoulders  in  a  savage  grip. 
She  gave  a  little  moan  of  pain  as  she  looked  around  for 
assistance.     It  came  quite  unexpectedly. 

At  the  same  moment  Mark  Ventmore  was  coming 
from  his  room.  He  took  in  the  situation  at  a  glance. 
With  one  bound  he  was  by  Richford's  side,  and  he  had 
wrenched  his  hands  away.  With  a  snarl  Richford 
turned  upon  the  man  whom  he  knew  to  be  his  success- 
ful rival,  and  aimed  a  blow  at  him.  Then  Mark's  fist 
shot  out,  and  Richford  crashed  to  the  ground  with  a 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  53 

livid   red   spot  on  his   forehead.     Sick  and  dizzy  he 
scrambled  to  his  feet. 

"  You  are  more  than  a  match  for  me  that  way,"  he 
panted.  "  But  there  are  other  ways,  my  friend,  of 
wiping  that  blow  out.     Look  to  yourself." 

There  was  a  deadly  menace  in  the  threat,  so  that 
Beatrice  shuddered  as  she  watched  the  retreating  figure. 
She  knew  perfectly  well  that  that  blow  would  not  be 
forgotten.  Mark  laughed  as  he  heard,  then  his  face 
changed  and  he  sighed. 

"  What  does  it  all  mean,  Beatrice  ? "  he  asked. 
"  For  that  man  to  lay  hands  upon  you  and  so  soon  after 
you  are  —  but  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  say  the  word." 
"  He  was  not  altogether  without  excuse,  Mark," 
Beatrice  said.  "  We  have  come  to  an  understanding. 
Never  shall  I  stay  under  the  same  roof  with  Stephen 
Richford." 

"  Well,  thank  God  for  that,"  Mark  said  fervently. 
"  Something  unexpected  has  happened !  " 

In  a  few  words  Beatrice  told  the  story  to  which  Mark 
listened  with  vivid  interest.  An  expression  of  the 
deepest  disgust  came  over  his  face  at  Beatrice  finished 
her  story  and  handed  over  the  telegram.  At  the  same 
time  the  feeling  nearest  her  heart  was  one  of  relief. 

"  It  was  the  act  of  a  scoundrel,  darling,"  he  said. 
"  And  yet  things  might  have  been  worse.  For  in- 
stance, you  might  not  have  found  that  telegram.  But 
since  you  have  done  so,  the  game  is  all  in  your  hands. 
You  are  quite  right  to  defy  that  fellow  and  refuse  to 
live  with  him.  He  dare  not  oppose  you,  Beatrice. 
Thank  Heaven,  I  shall  be  able  to  think  of  you  as  pure 
and  free  from  contamination.  But  what  are  you  going 
to  do?" 


54  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  I  have  not  thought  of  that  yet,"  Beatrice  said  with 
a  faint  smile.  "  For  a  day  or  two  I  shall  get  the  Rash- 
boroughs  to  give  me  a  home.  When  my  father's  affairs 
come  to  be  settled  up  there  will  be  a  little  less  than 
nothing  for  me  to  have.  Still,  I  have  some  jewels 
which  may  bring  me  in  a  few  hundred  pounds.  But  I 
shall  find  something  to  do." 

Mark  shut  his  teeth  tightly  together  to  keep  back  the 
protestations  of  love  that  rose  to  his  lips.  It  was  no 
time  to  speak  of  that  kind  of  thing.  He  felt  that  he 
had  been  tricked  out  of  the  only  girl  for  whom  he  had 
ever  cared,  but,  thank  goodness,  he  would  not  have  to 
think  of  her  as  dragging  out  a  lengthening  chain  by  the 
side  of  Stephen  Richford.  And  Beatrice  would  find 
something  to  do  —  of  that  he  felt  certain. 

"  I  will  come  and  see  you  in  a  few  days,  dearest,"  he 
said.  "  Though  you  are  bound  to  that  man  by  the 
cruel  sport  of  chance,  you  sti\J  belong  to  me.  There 
can  be  no  harm  in  my  helping  you.  And  may  God 
bless  and  keep  you  wherever  you  go,  darling." 

Mark  bent  and  kissed  Beatrice's  hand  tenderly,  and 
made  his  way  down  the  stairs.  There  was  nothing 
now  to  stay  for;  Beatrice  would  go  to  her  friends,  and 
the  strange  ending  of  the  Richford-Darryll  marriage 
would  be  food  for  the  scandal-mongers  for  many  a  day 
to  come.  All  these  thoughts  crowded  into  Mark's  mind 
as  he  made  his  way  down  into  the  big  dining-room  for 
luncheon.  He  was  sad  and  sick  at  heart,  but  man 
must  eat,  all  the  same.  He  did  not  look  as  if  he  could 
eat  here  at  present,  for  every  table  was  filled.  The 
last  seat  had  fallen  to  Richford,  who  found  himself 
seated    opposite    to     Colonel    Berrington.      Richford 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  55 

would  far  rather  have  been  anywhere  else,  but  there 
was  no  help  for  it. 

The  Colonel  bowed  coldly  to  the  other's  surly  nod. 
Richford  belonged  to  a  class  that  the  gallant  soldier 
frankly  detested.  He  expressed  no  surprise  at  seeing 
Richford  here;  it  was  natural  under  the  circumstances 
that  Beatrice  should  keep  to  her  own  room.  And  Ber- 
rington  had  heard  nothing  of  the  matter  of  the  telegram. 

"  Oh,  never  mind  all  that  rubbish,"  Richford  said 
testily,  as  the  waiter  passed  the  elaborate  menu  with  its 
imposing  array  of  dishes.  "  What 's  the  good  of  all 
that  foreign  cat's  meat  to  an  honest  Englishman  ?  Give 
me  a  steak  and  plain  potatoes  and  a  decanter  of  brandy." 

The  brandy  came  before  the  steak,  and  Richford 
helped  himself  liberally  to  the  liquid.  Berrington  was 
a  little  astonished.  He  had  more  than  once  heard 
Richford  boast  that  he  was  positively  a  teetotaller.  He 
usually  held  in  contempt  those  who  called  themselves 
merely  moderate  drinkers. 

"  What  a  time  they  keep  you  here,"  Richford 
growled.  "  If  I  'd  gone  to  one  of  those  City  places  I 
should  have  got  my  steak  in  half  the  time.  Oh,  here 
the  fellow  comes.     Now,  then,  I " 

Richford  paused  in  his  growling,  and  contemplated 
the  red  hot  plate  on  which  the  steak  was  displayed  with 
a  queer  gleam  in  his  eyes  and  a  clicking  of  the  corners 
of  his  mouth.  Just  for  the  moment  it  seemed  to  Ber- 
rington as  in  his  vis  a  vis  was  going  to  have  a  fit  of 
some  kind. 

"  There  is  salt  in  the  plate,"  Richford  gasped.  "  Who 
has  taken  the  liberty  of  putting " 

He  said  no  more;  he  seemed  to  be  incapable  of 
further  speech.     The  waiter  looked  sympathetic ;  it  was 


56  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

no  fault  of  his.     And  the  salt  was  there,  sure  enough. 

"  It  certainly  is  salt,"  the  waiter  said.  "  I  did  not 
notice  it  before.     It  's  a  lot  of  salt,  and  it  is  exactly  in, 

the  shape  of  a  rifle  bullet;  it's When  I  was  in 

South  Africa " 

Berrington's  glass  clicked  as  he  raised  it  to  his  lips. 
Just  for  an  instant  his  face  was  as  pale  as  that  of  the 
man  opposite  him.  With  a  gesture  Richford  mo- 
tioned the  waiter  away.  Then  he  rose  unsteadily  from 
the  table,  and  finished  the  rest  of  his  brandy  without 
any  water  at  all.  He  crossed  the  room  like  a  ghost. 
Directly  he  had  passed  the  swinging  doors  Berrington 
rose  and  followed.  He  saw  Richford  in  the  distance 
entering  a  hansom ;  he  called  one  himself.  Evidently 
he  had  no  desire  for  Richford  to  see  him. 

"  Where  shall  I  drive,  sir  ?  "  the  cabman  asked. 

"  Keep  that  cab  in  sight  without  being  seen,"  Ber- 
rington said  hastily.  "  Do  your  work  well,  and  it  will 
be  a  sovereign  in  your  pocket.     Now  drive  on." 


CHAPTEK  VIII 

THE  cabman  gave  a  knowing  wink  and  touched  his 
hat.  Berrington  lay  back  inside  the  hansom  ab- 
stractedly, smoking  a  cigarette  that  he  had  lighted. 
His  bronzed  face  was  unusually  pale  and  thoughtful; 
it  was  evident  that  he  felt  himself  on  no  ordinary 
errand,  though  the  situation  appeared  to  be  perfectly 
prosaic.  One  does  not  usually  attach  a  romantic  in- 
terest to  a  well-dressed  military  man  in  a  hansom  cab 
during  broad  daylight  in  London.  But  Berrington 
could  have  told  otherwise. 

"  Poor  little  girl,"  he  muttered  to  himself.  "  Sad 
as  her  fate  is,  I  did  not  think  it  was  quite  so  sad  as  this. 
We  must  do  something  to  save  her.  What  a  fortunate 
thing  it  is  that  I  have  always  had  a  love  for  the  study 
of  underground  human  nature,  and  that  I  should  have 
found  out  so  much  that  appears  only  normal  to  the 
average  eye.  That  innocent  patch  of  salt  in  the  shape 
of  a  bullet,  for  instance.  Thank  goodness,  I  am  on  my 
long  leave  and  have  plenty  of  time  on  my  hands.  My 
dear  little  grey  lady,  even  your  affairs  must  remain  in 
abeyance  for  the  present." 

The  drive  promised  to  be  a  long  one,  for  half  Lon- 
don seemed  to  have  been  traversed  before  the  cabman 
looked  down  through  the  little  peep-hole  and  asked  for 
instructions,  as  the  hansom  in  front  had  stopped. 

"  The  gentleman  inside  is  getting  out,  sir,"  he  said. 
"  He  's  stopped  at  the  corner  house." 

57 


58  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Go  by  it  at  a  walk,"  Berrington  commanded,  "  and 
see  what  house  our  man  enters.  After  that  I  will  tell 
you  exactly  what  to  do,  driver.  Only  be  careful  as  to 
the  right  house." 

The  cab  pulled  up  at  length  once  more,  and  the  house 
was  indicated.  Berrington  proceeded  a  little  further, 
and  then  sent  his  own  driver  away  rejoicing,  a  sovereign 
the  richer  for  his  task.  Turning  up  his  collar  and 
pulling  down  his  hat,  Berrington  retraced  his  steps. 

He  was  enabled  to  take  pretty  good  stock  of  the 
house  Richford  had  entered,  and  without  exciting  sus- 
picion, because  there  were  trees  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  road  and  seats  beneath  them.  It  was  a  fairly  open 
part  of  London,  with  detached  houses  on  the  one  side 
looking  on  to  a  kind  of  park.  They  were  expensive 
houses,  Berrington  decided,  houses  that  could  not  have 
been  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  a  year.  They 
looked  prosperous  with  their  marble  steps  and  conserva- 
tories on  the  right  side  of  the  wide  doorways ;  there 
were  good  gardens  behind  and  no  basements.  Berring- 
ton could  see,  too,  by  the  hanging  opals  in  the  upper 
windows  that  these  houses  had  electric  lights. 

"  This  is  unusual,  very  unusual  indeed,"  Berrington 
muttered  to  himself,  as  he  sat  as  if  tired  on  one  of  the 
seats  under  the  trees.  "  The  gentry  who  cultivate  the 
doctrine  that  has  for  its  cult  a  piece  of  salt  in  the  shape 
of  a  bullet,  don't  as  a  rule  favour  desirable  family  man- 
sions like  these.  Still,  fortune  might  have  favoured 
one  of  them.  No.  10.0,  Audley  Place.  And  No.  100 
is  the  recognized  number  of  the  clan.  By  the  way, 
where  am  I  ?  " 

A  passing  policeman  was  in  a  position  to  answer  the 
question.     Audley  Place  was  somewhat  at  the  back  of 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  59 

Wandsworth  Common,  so  that  it  was  really  a  good  way 
out  of  town.  The  policeman  was  friendly,  mainly 
owing  to  the  fact  that  he  was  an  old  soldier,  and  that 
he  recognized  Berrington  as  an  officer  immediately. 
He  was  full  of  information,  too. 

"  Mostly  rich  City  gents  live  in  Audley  Place,  sir," 
he  said.  "  There  is  one  colonel,  too  —  Colonel  Foley 
of  the  East  Shropshire  Regiment." 

"  An  old  college  chum  and  messmate  of  mine,"  Ber- 
rington said.  "  I  followed  Colonel  Foley  in  the  com- 
mand of  that  very  regiment.  What  house  does  he  live 
in?" 

"  That 's  No.  14,  sir,"  the  delighted  officer  grinned. 
"  Excuse  the  liberty,  sir,  but  you  must  be  Colonel  Ber- 
rington, sir.  I  was  with  you  all  through  the  first 
Egyptian  campaign." 

Berrington  blessed  his  own  good  fortune.  Here  was 
the  very  thing  that  he  wanted. 

"  We  '11  fight  our  battles  over  again  some  other  day," 
he  said.  "  I  am  pretty  sure  that  I  shall  see  a  great 
deal  more  of  you  —  by  the  way,  what  is  your  name  ? 
Macklin.  Thank  you.  Now  tell  me  something  as  to 
who  lives  yonder  at  No.  100.  I  am  not  asking  out  of 
idle  curiosity." 

"  I  can't  tell  you  the  gentleman's  name,  sir,"  Mack- 
lin replied.  "  But  I  can  find  out.  The  people  have 
not  been  there  very  long.  A  few  good  servants,  but  no 
men,  no  ladies  so  far  as  I  can  tell,  and  the  master 
what  you  might  call  a  confirmed  invalid.  Goes  about 
in  a  bath  chair  which  he  hires  from  a  regular  keeper 
of  this  class  of  thing.  Not  a  very  old  gent,  but  you 
can't  quite  tell,  seeing  that  he  is  muffled  up  to  his  eyes. 
Very  pale  and  feeble  he  looks." 


60  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Berrington  muttered  something  to  himself  and  his 
eyebrows  contracted.  Evidently  he  was  a  good  deal 
puzzled  by  what  he  had  heard. 

"  That  is  very  strange,"  he  said,  "  very  strange  in- 
deed. I  will  not  disguise  from  you,  Macklin,  that  I 
have  a  very  strong  reason  for  wishing  to  know  every- 
thing about  No.  100,  Audley  Place.  Keep  your  eyes 
open  and  glean  all  the  information  you  possibly  can. 
Talk  to  the  servants  and  try  to  pump  them.  And 
write  to  me  as  soon  as  you  have  found  out  anything 
worth  sending.  Here  is  my  card.  I  shall  do  no  good 
by  staying  here  any  longer  at  present." 

The  policeman  touched  his  helmet  and  strode  on  his 
way.  Berrington  strolled  along  under  the  friendly 
shadow  of  the  trees  till  he  had  left  Audley  Place  behind 
him.  Once  clear  of  the  terrace  he  called  a  cab  and  was 
whirled  back  to  town  again. 

Meanwhile,  absolutely  unconscious  of  the  fact  that 
he  was  being  so  closely  shadowed,  Richford  had  been 
driven  out  Wandsworth  way.  He  did  not  look  in  the 
least  like  a  modern  millionaire  of  good  health  and  en- 
viable prospects  as  he  drove  along.  His  moody  face 
was  pale,  his  lips  trembled,  his  eyes  were  red  and  blood- 
shot with  the  brandy  that  he  had  been  drinking.  The 
hand  that  controlled  the  market  so  frequently  shook 
strangely  as  Richford  pressed  the  bell  of  No.  100  Aud- 
ley Place.  There  was  no  suggestion  of  tragedy  or  mys- 
tery about  the  neat  parlourmaid  who  opened  the  door. 

"  Mr.  Sartoris  desires  to  see  me,"  Richford  said. 
"  He  sent  me  a  messenger  —  a  message  to  the  Royal 
Palace  Hotel.     Will  you  please  tell  him  I  am  here." 

The  neat  parlourmaid  opened  the  drawing-room  door 
and  ushered  Richford  in.     It  was  a  big  room  looking 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  61 

on  the  street,  but  there  was  nothing  about  it  to  give  the 
place  the  least  touch  of  originality.  The  furniture  was 
neat  and  substantial,  as  might  have  befitted  the  resi- 
dence of  a  prosperous  City  man,  the  pictures  were  by 
well-known  artists,  the  carpet  gave  to  the  feet  like  moss. 
There  was  nothing  here  to  cause  Richford  to  turn  pale, 
and  his  lips  to  quiver. 

He  paced  up  and  down  the  room  uneasily,  starting  at 
every  sound  until  the  maid  returned  and  asked  if  the 
gentleman  would  be  good  enough  to  step  this  way. 
Richford  followed  down  a  passage  leading  to  the  back 
of  the  house  into  a  room  that  gave  on  to  a  great  con- 
servatory. It  was  a  fine  room,  must  exquisitely  fur- 
nished; flowers  were  everywhere,  the  big  dome-roofed 
conservatory  was  a  vast  blaze  of  them.  The  room  was 
so  warm,  too,  that  Richford  felt  the  moisture  coming 
out  on  his  face.  By  the  fire  a  figure  sat  huddled  up  in 
a  great  invalid  chair. 

"  So  you  have  come,"  a  thin  voice  said.  "  Most  ex- 
cellent Richford,  you  are  here.  I  was  loath  to  send 
for  you  on  this  auspicious  occasion,  but  it  could  not  be 
helped." 

There  was  the  faintest  suggestion  of  a  sneer  in  the 
thin  voice.  Richford  crossed  the  room  and  took  an- 
other chair  by  the  side  of  the  invalid.  The  face  of  the 
man  who  called  himself  Carl  Sartoris  was  as  pale  as 
marble  and  as  drawn  as  parchment,  the  forehead  was 
hard  and  tangled  with  a  mass  of  fair  hair  upon  it,  the 
lips  were  a  little  suggestive  of  cruelty.  It  was  the 
dark  eyes  that  gave  an  expression  of  life  and  vitality, 
surprising  in  so  weak  a  frame.  Those  eyes  held  the 
spectator,  they  fascinated  people  by  their  marvellous 
vitality. 


62  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  What  devil's  work  are  you  upon  now  ?  "  Bichford 
growled. 

"  My  dear  sir,  you  must  not  speak  to  an  invalid  like 
that,"  Sartoris  said.  "  Do  you  not  know  that  I  am  sen- 
sitive as  to  my  own  beloved  flowers  ?  It  was  my  flowers 
that  I  asked  you  to  come  and  see.  Since  you  were  here 
last,  the  room  has  been  entirely  redecorated.  It  seemed 
to  me  to  be  good  that  I  should  share  my  artistic  joy 
with  so  congenial  a  companion." 

"  Damn  your  flowers !  "  Richford  burst  out  passion- 
ately. "  What  a  cruel,  unfeeling  fellow  you  are !  Al- 
ways the  same,  and  will  be  the  same  till  the  devil  comes 
for  you." 

"  Which  sad  event  you  would  regard  with  philosophic 
equanimity,"  Sartoris  laughed.  "  So,  we  will  get  to 
business  as  soon  as  possible.  I  see  that  Sir  Charles 
Darryll  is  dead.  I  want  to  know  all  about  that  affair 
without  delay.     What  did  he  die  of  ?  " 

"  How  should  I  know  ?  Old  age  and  too  much 
pleasure.  And  that 's  all  I  can  tell  you.  I  found  him 
first." 

"  Oh,  indeed.  The  evening  paper  says  nothing  about 
that." 

"  For  the  simple  reason  that  the  evening  papers  don't 
know  everything,"  Richford  growled.  "  Quite  early 
to-day  I  found  Sir  Charles  dead  in  his  bed.  I  dared 
not  say  a  word  about  it,  because,  as  you  know,  I  was 
going  to  marry  his  daughter.  But,  of  course,  you  all 
knew  about  that,  too.  You  see  if  I  had  made  my  little 
discovery  public,  Beatrice  would  have  known  that  death 
had  freed  her  and  her  father  from  certain  very  un- 
pleasant consequences  that  you  and  I  wot  of,  and  would 
have  refused  to  meet  me  at  the  altar.     So  I  locked  the 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  63 

door  and  discreetly  said  nothing,  my  good  Sartoris." 

The  little  man  in  the  invalid  chair  rolled  about  hor- 
ribly and  silently. 

"  Good  boy,"  he  said.  "  You  are  a  credit  to  your 
parents  and  the  country  you  belong  to.     What  next?" 

"  Why,  the  wedding,  of  course.  Lord  Rashborough, 
as  head  of  the  family,  was  giving  Beatrice  away.  Sir 
Charles  did  not  turn  up,  but  nobody  wondered,  as  he 
had  never  been  known  to  attend  to  an  appointment  in 
his  life.     And  so  we  were  married." 

Once  more  the  little  man  shook  with  unholy  mirth. 

"  And  the  girl  knows  nothing  about  it  ? "  he  asked. 
"  I  suppose  you  '11  tell  her  some  day  when  she  is  not 
quite  so  loving  as  she  might  be?  Ho,  ho;  it  is  a  joke 
after  my  own  heart." 

Richford  laughed  in  his  turn,  then  his  face  grew 
dark.  He  proceeded  to  tell  the  rest  of  the  story.  The 
little  man  in  the  chair  became  quieter  and  quieter,  his 
face  more  like  parchment  than  ever.  His  eyes  blazed 
with  a  curious  electric  fire. 

"  So  you  have  lost  your  wife  before  you  have  found 
her  ?  "  he  asked.  "  You  fool !  you  double-dyed  fool ! 
If  that  girl  chooses  to  tell  her  story,  suspicion  falls  on 
you.  And  if  anybody  makes  a  fuss  and  demands  an 
inquest  or  anything  of  that  kind " 

"  They  are  going  to  hold  an  inquest,  anyway,"  Rich- 
ford  said  sulkily.  "  Dr.  Andrews  was  in  favour  of  it 
from  the  first,  and  the  family  doctor,  Oswin,  has 
agreed.  The  police  came  around  and  sealed  up  that 
suite  of  rooms  before  I  left  the  hotel.  But  why  this 
fuss?" 

"  Silence,  fool !  "  came  from  the  chair  in  a  hissing 
whisper.     "  Let  me  have  time  to  think.     That  sense- 


64:  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

less  act  of  folly  of  yours  over  the  telegram  bids  fair  to 
ruin  us  all.  You  will  say  so  yourself  when  you  hear 
all  that  I  have  to  tell  you.     Oh,  you  idiot !  " 

"  Why  ?  "  Richford  protested.  "  How  did  I  know 
Sir  Charles  was  going  to  die  ?  And  if  his  death  took 
place  in  a  perfectly  natural  manner  and  there  was  no 
foul  play — — ■" 

"  Oh,  if  it  did.  Perhaps  it  was  wrong  on  my  part 
not  to  take  you  more  fully  into  my  confidence.  But 
there  is  one  thing  certain.  Listen  to  me,  Richford. 
Whatever  happens  between  now  and  this  time  to-mor- 
row there  must  be  no  inquest  on  the  body  of  Sir  Charles 
Darryll!" 

The  words  came  with  a  fierce  hissing  indrawing  of 
the  speaker's  breath.  He  tried  to  get  up  from  his 
chair,  and  fell  back  with  a  curse  of  impotence. 

"  Push  me  along  to  the  door,"  he  said.  "  Take  me 
to  that  little  room  behind  the  library  where  you  have 
been  before.  I  am  going  to  show  you  something,  and 
I  'm  going  to  reveal  a  plot  to  you.  We  shall  want  all 
your  brutal  bulldog  courage  to-night." 

The  chair  slid  along  on  its  cushioned  wheels,  the  door 
closed  with  a  gentle  spring,  and,  as  it  did,  a  female 
figure  emerged  from  behind  a  great  bank  of  flowers  just 
inside  the  conservatory.  She  crossed  on  tip-toe  to  the 
door  and  as  gently  closed  it.  As  the  light  fell  it  lit  up 
the  pale  sad  features  of  the  grey  lady  —  the  Slave  of 
Silence. 


CHAPTEE  IX 

IT  was  with  a  sigh  of  relief  that  Beatrice  found  her- 
self at  length  alone.  There  was  nothing  for  her  to 
do  now  but  to  get  her  belongings  together  and  leave  the 
hotel.  There  would  be  an  inquest  on  the  body  of  Sir 
Charles  at  ten  o'clock  the  following  morning,  as  the 
authorities  had  already  informed  her,  but  Beatrice  had 
looked  upon  this  as  merely  a  formal  affair.  She  would 
pack  her  things  and  leave  them  in  Sir  Charles's  dress- 
ing-room — ■  the  door  of  which  had  not  been  sealed  — 
and  send  for  everything  on  the  morrow.  All  her  costly 
presents,  including  the  wonderful  diamonds  from 
Stephen  Richford,  she  had  entirely  forgotten.  A  some- 
what tired  detective  was  still  watching  the  jewels  in  a 
room  off  the  hall  where  the  wedding  breakfast  was  laid 
out.     But  the  fact  had  escaped  Beatrice's  attention. 

Lady  Rashborough  was  having  tea  alone  in  her 
boudoir  when  Beatrice  arrived.  Her  pretty  little  lady- 
ship was  not  looking  quite  so  amiable  as  usual. and 
there  was  the  suggestion  of  a  frown  on  her  face.  She 
had  been  losing  a  great  deal  at  bridge  lately,  and  that 
was  not  the  kind  of  pastime  that  Rashborough  ap- 
proved. He  was  very  fond  of  his  empty,  hard,  selfish, 
little  wife,  but  he  had  put  his  foot  down  on  gambling, 
and  Lady  Rashborough  had  been  forced  to  give  her 
promise  to  discontinue  it.  The  little  woman  cared 
nothing  for  anyone  but  herself,  and  she  had  small  sym- 
pathy for  Beatrice. 

5  65 


66  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  What  are  you  doing  here  ? "  6he  asked  pettishly. 
"  Where  is  your  husband  ?  " 

"  That  I  cannot  tell  you,"  Beatrice  replied.  "  You 
hardly  expected  that  I  should  have  started  on  my 
honeymoon  under  such  circumstances,  did  you  % " 

"  My  dear  child,  don't  talk  nonsense !  Of  course 
not.  The  proper  thing  is  to  go  to  some  very  quiet  hotel 
and  dine  respectably  —  to  lie  low  till  the  funeral  is 
over.  Of  course  this  is  all  very  annoying,  especially 
as  you  have  such  a  lovely  lot  of  new  frocks  and  all  the 
rest  of  it,  but  I  dare  say  they  will  come  in  later  on. 
Not  that  it  matters,  seeing  that  you  have  a  husband 
who  could  stifle  you  in  pretty  frocks  and  never  miss  the 
money.  What  a  funny  girl  you  are,  Bee.  You  don't 
seem  to  appreciate  your  good  luck  at  all." 

"  You  regard  me  as  exceedingly  lucky,  then  ? "  Bea- 
trice asked  quietly. 

"  My  dear  girl,  lucky  is  not  the  word  for  it.  Of 
course  Stephen  Richford  is  not  what  I  call  an  ideal 
husband,  but  with  his  amazing  riches " 

"  Which  are  nothing  to  me,  Adela,"  Beatrice  said. 
"  I  have  discovered  the  man  to  be  a  degraded  and 
abandoned  scoundrel.  From  the  first  I  always  hated 
and  detested  him;  I  only  consented  to  marry  him  for 
the  sake  of  my  father.  Adela,  I  am  going  to  tell  you 
the  discovery  that  I  made  in  my  father's  bedroom  this 
morning." 

In  a  few  words  Beatrice  told  her  story.  But  if  she 
expected  any  outburst  of  indignation  from  her  listener, 
she  was  doomed  to  disappointment.  The  little  figure 
in  the  big  arm  chair  didn't  move  —  there  was  a  smile 
of  contempt  on  her  face. 

"  Good  gracious,  what  a  little  thing  to  fuss  about !  " 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  67 

she  cried.  "  It  seems  to  me  that  the  man  was  paying 
you  a  compliment.  If  I  had  been  in  your  place  I 
should  have  said  nothing  till  I  wanted  to  get  the  whip 
hand  of  my  husband.  My  dear  child,  you  don't  mean 
to  say  that  you  are  going  to  take  the  matter  seriously !  " 

Beatrice  felt  the  unbidden  tears  gathering  in  her 
eyes.  She  had  been  sorely  taxed  and  shaken  to-day, 
and  she  was  longing  more  than  she  knew  for  a  little 
sympathy.  People  had  told  her  before  that  Lady  Rash- 
borough  had  no  heart,  and  she  was  beginning  to  be- 
lieve it. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  Beatrice  stammered,  "  do 
you  really  want  me  to  believe  —  that " 

"  Of  course  I  do,  you  goose.  Money  is  everything. 
I  married  Rashborough  because  it  was  the  best  thing 
that  offered,  and  I  did  not  want  to  overstay  my  market. 
It  was  all  a  question  of  money.  I  would  have  married 
a  satyr  if  he  had  been  rich  enough.  And  you  sit  there 
telling  me  that  you  are  going  to  leave  Stephen  Rich- 
ford." 

"  I  shall  never  speak  to  him  again.  He  and  I  have 
finished.  I  have  no  money,  no  prospects,  no  anything. 
But  I  decline  to  return  to  Stephen  Richford." 

"  And  so  you  are  going  to  have  a  fine  scandal,"  Lady 
Rashborough  cried,  really  angry  at  last.  "  You  think 
you  are  going  to  hang  about  here  posing  as  a  victim  till 
something  turns  up.  I  dare  say  that  Rashborough 
would  be  on  your  side  because  he  is  of  that  peculiar 
class  of  silly  billy,  but  you  may  be  sure  that  I  shall  not 
stand  it.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  you  can't  stay  here, 
Beatrice.  I  rather  like  Richford;  he  gives  me  little 
tips,  and  he  has  helped  me  over  my  bridge  account  more 
than  once.     If  he  should  come  here  to  dinner " 


68  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

Beatrice  rose,  her  pride  in  arms  at  once.  It  was  put 
pretty  well,  but  it  was  cold,  and  hard,  and  heartless, 
and  the  gist  of  it  was  that  Beatrice  was  practically  or- 
dered out  of  the  house.  She  had  hoped  to  remain  here 
a  few  weeks,  at  any  rate  until  she  could  find  rooms. 
She  was  pleased  to  recall  that  she  had  not  sent  her 
things. 

"  You  need  not  trouble  to  put  it  any  more  plainly," 
she  said  coldly.  "  In  the  eyes  of  your  Smart  Set,  I 
have  done  a  foolish  thing,  and  you  decline  to  have  me 
here  for  the  present.  Very  well,  I  shall  not  appeal  to 
Frank,  though  I  am  quite  sure  what  he  would  say  if  I 
did.  All  the  same,  I  could  not  tax  the  hospitality  of 
one  who  tells  me  plainly  that  she  does  not  want  me." 

Beatrice  rose  and  moved  towards  the  door.  With 
a  little  toss  of  her  head,  Lady  Rashborough  took  up  the 
French  novel  she  had  been  reading  as  Beatrice  entered. 
Thus  she  wiped  her  hands  of  the  whole  affair ;  thus  in 
a  way  she  pronounced  the  verdict  of  Society  upon  Bee's 
foolish  conduct.  But  the  girl's  heart  was  very  heavy 
within  her  as  she  walked  back  to  the  Royal  Palace 
Hotel.  It  was  only  an  earnest  of  the  hard  things  that 
were  going  to  happen. 

And  she  had  no  money,  nothing  beyond  a  stray  sov- 
ereign or  two  in  her  purse.  She  had  taken  off  most  of 
her  jewellery  with  the  exception  of  an  old  diamond 
bangle  of  quaint  design.  She  hated  the  sight  of  it  now 
as  she  hated  the  sight  of  anything  that  suggested  wealth 
and  money.  With  a  firm  resolve  in  her  mind,  Beatrice 
turned  into  a  large  jeweller's  shop  in  Bond  Street. 
The  firm  was  very  well  known  to  her;  they  had  sup- 
plied the  family  for  years  with  the  costly  trifles  that 
women  love.     The  head  of  the  house  would  see  her  at 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  69 

once,  and  to  him  Beatrice  told  her  story.  A  little  later, 
and  with  a  comfortably  lighter  heart,  she  made  her  way 
back  to  the  Royal  Palace  Hotel  with  a  sum  of  money 
considerably  over  two  hundred  pounds  in  her  purse. 

The  manager  of  the  hotel  was  sympathetic.  Un- 
fortunately the  house  was  full,  but  Beatrice  could  have 
Sir  Charles's  sitting-room  and  the  dressing-room  where 
a  bed  could  be  put  up.  And  would  Mrs.  Richford — 
Beatrice  started  at  the  name  —  give  instructions  as  to 
those  presents  ? 

"  I  had  quite  forgotten  them,"  Beatrice  said.  "  Will 
you  please  have  everything,  except  some  jewels  that  I 
will  take  care  of,  locked  up  in  your  safe.  There  are 
some  diamonds  which  I  am  going  to  give  into  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Richford  at  once.     I  am  so  sorry  to  trouble 

you." 

But  it  was  no  trouble  at  all  to  the  polite  manager. 
He  begged  that  Mrs.  Richford  would  let  him  take 
everything  off  her  hands.  Wearily  Beatrice  crept  down 
to  dinner  with  a  feeling  that  she  would  never  want  to 
eat  anything  again.  She  watched  that  brilliant  throng 
about  her  sadly;  she  sat  in  the  drawing-room  after 
dinner,  a  thing  apart  from  the  rest.  A  handsome, 
foreign-looking  woman  came  up  to  her  and  sat  down  on 
the  same  settee. 

"  I  hope  you  will  not  think  that  I  am  intruding,"  the 
lady  said.  "  Such  a  sad,  sad  time  for  you,  dear.  Did 
you  ever  hear  your  father  speak  of  Countess  de  la 
Moray  ? " 

Beatrice  remembered  the  name  perfectly  well.  She 
had  often  heard  her  father  speak  of  the  Countess  in 
terms  of  praise.  The  lady  smiled  in  a  sad,  retrospec- 
tive way. 


70  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  We  were  very  good  friends,"  she  said.  "  I  recol- 
lect you  in  Paris  when  you  were  quite  a  little  thing. 
It  was  just  before  your  dear  mother  died.  You  used 
to  be  terribly  fond  of  chocolates,  I  remember." 

The  lady  rambled  on  in  a  pleasing  way  that  Beatrice 
found  to  be  soothing.  Gradually  and  by  slow  degrees 
she  began  to  draw  out  the  girl's  confidence.  Beatrice 
was  a  little  surprised  to  find  that  she  was  telling  the 
Countess  everything. 

"  You  are  quite  right,  my  dear,"  she  said  quietly. 
"  The  heart  first  —  always  the  heart  first.  It  is  the 
only  way  to  happiness.  Your  father  was  a  dear  friend 
of  mine,  and  I  am  going  to  be  a  friend  of  yours.  I 
have  no  children;  I  had  a  daughter  who  would  have 
been  about  your  age  had  she  lived." 

The  Countess  sighed  heavily. 

"  I  would  never  have  allowed  a  fate  like  yours  to  be 
hers.  I  go  back  home  in  a  few  days  to  my  chateau 
near  Paris.  It  is  quiet  and  dull  perhaps,  but  very 
soothing  to  the  nerves.  It  would  give  me  great  pleasure 
for  you  to  accompany  me." 

Beatrice  thanked  the  kind  speaker  almost  tearfully. 
It  was  the  first  touch  of  womanly  sympathy  she  had 
received  since  her  troubles  had  begun,  and  it  went  to 
her  heart. 

"  It  is  very,  very  good  of  you,"  she  said.  "  A  friend 
is  what  I  sorely  need  at  present.  When  I  think  of 
your  goodness  to  a  comparative  stranger  like  me " 

"  Then  don't  think  of  it,"  the  Countess  said  almost 
gaily.  "  Let  us  get  rid  of  that  horrible  man  first. 
You  must  return  those  fine  diamonds  to  him.  Oh,  I 
know  about  the  diamonds,  because  I  read  an  account  of 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  71 

them  in  the  papers.  Perhaps  you  have  already  done 
so?" 

"  Ko,"  Beatrice  said,  "  they  are  in  my  dressing-room 
at  the  present  moment." 

"  Oh,  the  careless  girl !  But  that  shows  how  little 
you  value  that  kind  of  thing.  Well,  General,  and  what 
do  you  want  with  me  at  this  time  of  the  evening  % " 

A  tall,  military  man  had  lounged  up  to  them.  He 
was  exquisitely  preserved.  He  bowed  over  Beatrice's 
hand  as  he  was  introduced  as  General  Gastang. 

"  Delighted  to  meet  you,"  he  said.  "  I  knew  your 
father  slightly.  Countess,  your  maid  is  wandering  in 
a  desolate  way  about  the  corridor,  looking  for  you,  with 
some  story  of  a  dressmaker." 

"  Ma  foi,  I  had  quite  forgotten !  "  the  Countess  ex- 
claimed. "  Do  not  go  from  here,  cherie;  talk  to  the 
General  till  I  return,  which  will  not  be  long.  Those 
dressmakers  are  the  plague  of  one's  life.  I  will  be 
back  as  soon  as  possible." 

The  General's  manner  was  easy  and  his  tongue  fluent. 
Beatrice  had  only  to  lean  her  head  back  and  smile 
faintly  from  time  to  time.  The  General  suddenly 
paused  —  so  suddenly  that  Beatrice  looked  up  and  no- 
ticed the  sudden  pallor  of  his  face,  his  air  of  agitation. 

"  You  are  not  well  ?  "  the  girl  asked.  "  The  heat  of 
the  room  has  been  too  much  for  you." 

The  General  gasped  something;  with  his  head  down 
he  seemed  to  be  avoiding  the  gaze  of  a  man  who  had 
just  come  into  the  drawing-room.  As  the  newcomer 
turned  to  speak  to  a  lady,  the  General  shot  away  from 
Beatrice's  side,  muttering  something  about  a  telegram. 
He  had  hardly  vanished  before  Beatrice  was  conscious 
of  a  cold  thrill. 


72  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

After  all  she  knew  nothing  of  these  people.  Such 
scraps  of  her  history  as  they  had  gleaned  might  have 
come  from  anybody.  Then  Beatrice  had  another  thrill 
as  she  recollected  the  fact  that  she  had  told  this  strange 
Countess  that  the  diamonds  were  in  her  dressing-room. 
Suppose  those  two  were  in  league  to  — ■ — 

Beatrice  waited  to  speculate  on  this  point  no  longer. 
She  hurried  from  the  room  and  up  the  stairs  to  her 
bedroom.  The  corridors  were  practically  deserted  at 
this  time  in  the  evening.  Beatrice  gave  a  sigh  of  relief 
to  see  that  her  door  was  shut.  She  placed  her  hand 
gently  on  the  handle,  but  the  door  did  not  give. 

It  was  locked  on  the  inside!  Erom  within  came 
whispering  voices.  In  amaze,  the  girl  recognized  the 
fact  that  one  of  the  voices  belonged  to  Countess  de  la 
Moray,  and  the  other  to  the  man  who  called  himself 
her  husband,  Stephen  Eichford. 

There  was  nothing  for  it  now  but  to  stay  and  wait 
developments. 


CHAPTER  X 

BEATRICE  had  not  long  to  wait.  Only  a  few- 
minutes  elapsed  before  the  door  flew  open  and 
Richford  came  out  so  gently  that  Beatrice  had  barely 
time  to  step  into  a  friendly  doorway.  Her  senses  were 
quick  and  alert  now  in  the  face  of  this  unknown  dan- 
ger, and  the  girl  did  not  fail  to  note  the  pale  face  and 
agitated  features  of  the  man  who  had  so  grievously 
harmed  her.  Evidently  Richford  had  been  drinking 
no  more,  but  certainly  he  had  had  some  great  shock, 
the  effects  of  which  had  not  passed  away.  He  mut- 
tered something  as  he  passed  Beatrice,  and  looked  at  his 
watch.  Directly  he  had  disappeared  down  the  corridor, 
Beatrice  stepped  into  her  room. 

The  Countess  was  standing  by  the  dressing-table 
picking  up  the  odds  and  ends  there  in  a  careless  kind 
of  way,  but  evidently  in  an  attitude  of  deep  attention. 
Beatrice's  feeling  of  alarm  became  somewhat  less  as  she 
saw  that  the  case  of  diamonds  on  the  dressing-table  had 
not  been  touched.  If  anything  like  a  robbery  had  been 
contemplated  she  was  in  time  to  prevent  it.  Just  for 
the  moment  it  occurred  to  Beatrice  to  demand  coldly 
the  reason  for  the  intrusion,  but  she  thought  the  better 
of  that.  Clearly  there  was  some  conspiracy  on  foot 
here,  and  it  would  be  bad  policy  to  suggest  that  she 
suspected  anything.  So  Beatrice  forced  a  little  smile  on 
her  lips  as  she  crossed  the  room. 

"  I  shall  have  to  give  you  in  charge  as  being  a  sus- 
73 


U  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

picious  character,"  she  said.  "  I  shall  begin  to  believe 
that  your  dressmaker  only  existed  in  your  imagination." 

The  Countess  gave  a  little  scream,  and  her  face 
paled  somewhat  under  her  rouge.  But  she  recovered 
herself  with  marvellous  quickness.  Her  lips  had  ceased 
to  tremble,  she  smiled  gaily. 

"  I  am  fairly  caught,"  she  said.  "  There  is  nothing 
for  it  but  to  plead  guilty  and  throw  myself  on  the  mercy 
of  the  court.  You  see,  I  have  not  taken  the  diamonds, 
though  I  have  looked  at  them." 

It  was  all  so  admirably  and  coolly  said,  that  it  might 
have  deceived  anybody  who  did  not  know  quite  so  much 
as  Beatrice.  But  she  had  made  up  her  mind  that  no 
suspicion  of  the  truth  should  come  out.  Quite  care- 
lessly she  opened  the  lid  of  the  jewel  cases  so  that  she 
might  see  for  herself  that  she  was  not  the  victim  of  this 
magnificent  adventuress. 

But  the  gems  were  there  right  enough.  Their  mar- 
vellous rays  seemed  to  fill  the  room  with  livid  fire. 
Beatrice  glanced  at  her  companion;  the  latter  had 
caught  her  underlip  fiercely  between  her  teeth,  her 
hands  were  clenched.  And  Beatrice  knew  that  but  for 
the  intervention  of  that  stranger  in  the  drawing-room 
and  the  sudden  flight  of  the  General,  she  would  never 
have  seen  those  diamonds  again.  And  yet  Stephen 
Bichford  had  been  in  the  same  room  with  this  brilliant 
adventuress!  Beatrice  would  have  given  a  great  deal 
to  see  to  the  bottom  of  the  mystery. 

"  Oh,  it  is  indeed  a  narrow  escape  that  you  have 
had,"  the  Countess  said.  "  I  was  not  feeling  very  well, 
so  I  sent  my  maid  to  ask  you  to  come  to  my  room.  She 
said  you  had  already  gone,  so  I  took  the  liberty  of 
coming  here.     Is  not  that  so  ?  " 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  75 

"  Then  we  had  perhaps  better  stay  and  talk  here," 
Beatrice  suggested.  "  Adeline,  will  you  take  this  case 
down  to  the  office  and  ask  the  manager  to  place  it  with 
my  other  valuables  in  the  safe  ?  Be  very  careful,  be- 
cause they  are  diamonds." 

Adeline,  who  had  just  come  in,  took  the  case  in  her 
hand.  The  Countess  had  turned  her  back,  but  Beatrice 
caught  sight  of  her  face  in  the  cheval  glass.  It  was 
livid  with  fury,  and  all  wrinkled  up  with  greed  and 
baffled  cupidity.  The  girl  was  afraid  to  trust  her  voice 
for  a  moment.  She  knew  now  that  unless  she  had 
taken  this  course,  the  diamonds  would  not  have  been 
hers  much  longer.  A  woman  who  could  look  like  that 
was  capable  of  anything.  Some  cunning  plan,  perhaps 
some  plan  that  took  violence  within  its  grasp,  would 
have  been  carried  out  before  the  evening  was  over.  So 
alarmed  was  Beatrice  that  she  followed  Adeline  to  the 
door.  She  wanted  to  see  the  jewels  safe  and  regain  her 
lost  self-possession  at  the  same  time.  It  seemed  to  be 
a  critical  moment. 

"  If  you  will  excuse  me,"  she  said,  "  I  had  forgotten 
to  give  my  maid  another  message." 

The  Countess  nodded  and  smiled  gaily.  She  was 
master  of  herself  once  more.  Beatrice  stepped  out  of 
the  room  and  followed  Adeline  at  a  safe  distance  to  the 
end  of  the  stairs.  So  far  as  she  knew  to  the  contrary  a 
confederate  might  be  lingering  about  waiting  for  a 
signal.  Surely  enough,  General  Gastang  was  loitering 
in  the  hall  smoking  a  cigarette.  But  he  seemed  to  be 
powerless  now,  for  he  made  no  sign,  and  with  a  sigh  of 
relief  Beatrice  saw  Adeline  emerge  presently  from  the 
office  minus  the  cases  which  she  had  previously  carried. 

"  Now,  I  fancy  I  have  finished  my  business  for  the 


76  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

evening,"  Beatrice  said.  "  I  have  been  thinking  over 
the  very  kind  offer  you  made  to  me  a  little  time  ago. 
You  can  hardly  understand  how  anybody  as  lonely  as 
myself  appreciates  such  kindness  as  yours." 

The  Countess  raised  her  hands  as  if  to  ward  off  the 
gratitude.  They  were  slim  hands  with  many  rings  upon 
them,  as  Beatrice  did  not  fail  to  notice. 

And  on  the  finger  of  the  left  hand  something  was 
hanging  that  looked  like  a  wisp  of  silk  thread. 

"  Excuse  me,"  Beatrice  said,  "  you  have  something 
attached  to  one  of  your  rings.  Let  me  remove  it  for 
you.  That  is  all  right.  It  seems  very  strange, 
but  — " 

Beatrice  checked  herself  suddenly  and  walked  rapid- 
ly across  the  room.  She  had  made  what  in  the  light  of 
recent  events  was  a  startling  discovery.  At  first  she 
had  imagined  that  the  long  silken  fluff  was  attached  to 
one  of  the  rings,  but  this  her  quick  eyes  had  proved  to 
be  a  mistake.  On  one  of  the  slim  fingers  of  the  Count- 
ess was  a  thick  smear  of  wax. 

Beatrice  could  see  a  little  of  it  sticking  to  the  palm 
of  the  hand  now.  She  understood  what  this  meant. 
That  neat  little  woman  was  by  no  means  the  sort  of 
person  to  dabble  habitually  in  tricks  of  that  kind,  and 
Beatrice  suddenly  recollected  that  wax  was  used  for 
taking  impressions  of  locks  and  keys  and  the  like.  But 
surely  there  could  be  nothing  worth  all  that  trouble  in 
this  room,  she  thought.  Nor  would  anything  of  that 
kind  have  been  necessary  to  get  possession  of  the  jewels. 
Besides,  if  any  waxen  impression  of  anything  had  been 
taken,  Stephen  Richford  would  have  done  it.  Just  for 
a  moment  it  occurred  to  Beatrice  that  it  would  be  a 
good  idea  to  change  her  room,  but  she  dismissed  the 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  77 

impulse  as  cowardly,  and  besides,  the  manager  had 
advised  her  that  he  had  not  another  room  at  his  dis- 
posal in  the  hotel. 

Still,  she  was  on  her  guard  now,  and  she  made  up 
her  mind  to  slumber  lightly  to-night.  After  all  the 
exciting  events  of  the  day,  it  was  not  likely  that  she 
would  sleep  at  all.  And  yet  she  felt  very  dull  and 
heavy;  she  could  think  of  nothing  to  say,  so  that  the 
Countess  rose  presently  and  proclaimed  the  fact  that 
she  was  quite  ready  for  bed  herself. 

"  I  am  selfish,"  she  said.  "  I  am  keeping  you  up, 
for  which  I  should  be  ashamed  of  myself.  Good-night, 
my  dear,  and  pleasant  dreams  to  you." 

The  speaker  flitted  away  with  a  smile  and  a  kiss  of 
her  jewelled  fingers.  Beatrice  drew  a  long  sigh  of  re- 
lief to  find  herself  alone  once  more. 

She  locked  the  door  carefully  and  commenced  a 
thorough  examination  of  the  room.  It  was  some  time 
before  her  quick  eyes  gave  her  any  clue  to  the  meaning 
of  the  wax  on  the  Countess's  hands.  Then  she  found 
it  at  last  There  was  another  of  the  silken  threads 
hanging  on  the  lock  of  the  door  leading  to  the  room 
where  Sir  Charles  lay.  On  the  official  seal  placed  there 
by  the  police  officers  was  a  tiny  thread  of  silk.  It  was 
not  attached  to  the  seal  in  any  way.  It  came  away  in 
Beatrice's  hands  when  she  pulled  it,  as  if  it  had  been 
fixed  there  by  gum.  But  Beatrice  knew  better  than  that. 
On  the  silk  was  wax,  as  she  discovered  when  her  hand 
touched  it.  A  piece  of  soft  white  wax  had  been  pressed 
on  the  seal,  and  had  left  strong  traces  behind. 

Now,  what  did  this  strange  mystery  mean  ?  Beatrice 
asked  herself.  Why  did  anybody  require  an  impres- 
sion of  that  seal?     What  object  could  anyone  have  in 


78  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

getting  into  the  room  where  the  dead  man  lay?  The 
more  Beatrice  asked  herself  this  question  the  more 
puzzled  did  she  become.  She  thought  it  over  till  her 
head  ached  and  her  eyes  grew  heavy.  So  engrossed 
was  she  that  she  quite  failed  to  notice  several  little  im- 
patient knocks  at  the  door.  Then  the  girl  came  to  her- 
self with  a  start,  and  opened  the  door  to  admit  her 
maid,  as  she  expected. 

But  it  was  not  Adeline  come  back,  but  the  Countess 
with  a  dazzling  white  silk  wrap  over  her  shoulders. 
She  was  profoundly  apologetic,  but  what  was  she  to 
do  ?  Her  maid  had  been  taken  ill  and  she  had  been 
commanded  to  bed  by  a  doctor.  The  Countess  was 
very  sorry  for  Marie,  but  she  had  a  little  sympathy  left 
for  herself.  It  was  impossible  for  her  to  unhook  the 
back  of  her  dress.  Would  Beatrice  be  so  kind  as  to  do 
it  for  her  ? 

"  Of  course  I  will,"  Beatrice  said.  "  It  is  awkward 
being  without  a  maid.     Let  me  shut  the  door." 

It  was  no  great  task  that  Beatrice  had  set  herself, 
but  it  was  not  rendered  any  more  easy  because  the 
Countess  pranced  about  the  room  as  if  unable  to  keep 
still.  She  held  in  her  hand  a  smelling  bottle  with  a 
powerful  perfume  that  Beatrice  had  never  smelt  before. 
It  was  sweet  yet  pungent,  and  carried  just  a  suggestion 
of  a  tonic  perfume  with  it.  But  the  task  was  accom- 
plished at  length. 

"  I  fancy  that  is  all  you  require,"  Beatrice  said. 
"  What  scent  is  that  you  are  using  ?  " 

"  It  is  some  new  stuff  from  Paris,"  the  Countess 
said  carelessly.  "  It  is  supposed  to  be  the  most  mar- 
vellous thing  for  headaches  in  the  wide  world.     Per- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  79 

sonally,  I  find  it  a  little  too  strong.  Do  you  like 
perfumes  ? " 

"  I  am  afraid  they  are  a  weakness  of  mine,"  Beatrice 
confessed.     "  It  is  very  silly,  I  know,  but  it  is  so." 

The  Countess  removed  the  glass  stopper  from  the 
bottle. 

"  Try  it,  if  you  like,"  she  said.  "  Only  you  must 
not  take  too  much  of  it  at  first." 

Beatrice  placed  the  bottle  to  her  nostrils.  A  de- 
licious thrill  passed  through  her  veins.  All  sense  of 
fatigue  had  gone ;  she  felt  conscious  of  only  one  thing, 
and  that  was  the  desire  to  lie  down  and  sleep.  In  a 
dreamy  way  she  watched  the  Countess  depart  and  close 
the  door  behind  her;  then  she  crossed  over  to  the  bed 
and  lay  on  it  just  as  she  was  —  her  thoughts  seemed  to 
be  steeped  in  sunshine. 

When  Beatrice  awoke  at  length,  it  was  broad  day- 
light, and  Adeline  was  leaning  over  her.  The  girl's 
face  was  white  and  her  lips  unsteady. 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  come  round,  Miss,"  she  said. 
"  You  wouldn't  believe  the  trouble  I  have  had  to  arouse 
you,  and  you  such  a  light  sleeper  as  a  rule.  Don't  you 
feel  well?" 

"  I  never  felt  better  in  my  life,"  Beatrice  said.  "  I 
have  slept  for  hours  and  hours.  But  it  is  for  me  to 
ask  if  you  don't  feel  well,  Adeline.  Your  face  is  so 
curiously  white  and  your  lips  tremble.  What  is  nt  ? 
Has  something  happened  ?  But  that  is  quite  out  of  the 
question.  All  the  dreadful  things  came  together  yes- 
terday.    Tell  me,  what  time  is  it,  Adeline  ? " 

"  It 's  a  little  past  ten,  Miss,"  Adeline  said  in  a  low 
voice  that  shook  a  little.  "  On  and  off,  I  have  been 
trying  to  wake  you  since  eight  o'clock.     And  there  is  a 


80  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

gentleman  to  see  you  in  the  sitting-room  as  soon  as  you 
have  time  —  two  gentlemen,  in  fact." 

Beatrice  asked  no  further  questions,  though  she  could 
see  from  Adeline's  manner  that  something  out  of  the 
common  had  taken  place.  But  Beatrice  felt  curiously 
strong  and  steady  to-day.  It  seemed  impossible  that 
fate  could  have  anything  worse  in  store  than  had  al- 
ready befallen  her.  With  a  firm  step  she  went  into  the 
sitting-room  where  two  men  rose  and  bowed  gravely. 
One  she  recognized  as  the  inspector  of  police  who  had 
come  after  the  tragedy  yesterday,  the  other  was  Dr. 
Andrews. 

"  You  sent  for  me,  gentlemen  ?  "  she  said  quietly. 
"  It  is  a  matter  of  the  inquest,  of  course  ?  Will  you 
have  to  call  me?  I  am  afraid  I  can  give  you  no  in- 
formation —  my  father  never  had  anything  the  matter 
with  him  as  far  as  I  know.  If  you  could  spare  me 
the  pain " 

Dr.  Andrews  nodded  gravely;  he  seemed  unable  to 
speak  for  the  moment. 

"  It  is  not  that,"  he  said  quietly.  "  If  we  spare 
you  one  pain  we  give  you  another.  Miss  Darryll,  I 
should  say  Mrs.  Bichford,  a  terrible  thing  has  hap- 
pened, a  strange,  weird  thing.  As  you  know,  the  in- 
quest was  to  have  been  to-day.  Events  have  rendered 
that  utterly  impossible.     Please  be  brave." 

'«»You  will  not  have  to  complain  of  me  on  that  score," 
Beatrice  whispered. 

"  Then  it  is  this.  By  some  strange  means,  certain 
people  entered  Sir  Charles's  room  last  night  and  carried 
him  away.  It  is  amazing,  but  the  body  of  Sir  Charles 
has  disappeared !  " 


CHAPTER  XI 

BEATRICE  reached  out  a  hand  and  steadied  her- 
self against  a  chair.  Just  for  a  moment  the 
whole  world  seemed  to  be  spinning  around  her.  Brave 
and  courageous  as  she  was,  these  shocks,  coming  one 
after  the  other,  had  been  too  much  for  her.  When  she 
opened  her  eyes  again  she  found  that  Mark  Ventmore 
was  standing  by  her  side. 

"  Courage,  darling,"  he  whispered.  "  We  seem  to 
have  come  to  the  worst  of  everything.  Whatever  may 
be  the  result  and  meaning  of  this  dastardly  outrage, 
nothing  can  hurt  your  father." 

The  colour  was  slowly  coming  back  into  the  girl's 
pallid  lips.  With  an  effort  she  struggled  for  the  pos- 
session of  herself.  She  was  alone  in  the  world,  she  had 
a  position  that  would  cause  most  of  her  women  friends 
to  turn  coldly  from  her,  but  Mark  remained.  And 
there  was  always  the  feeling  that  she  had  nothing  furth- 
er to  fear  from  Stephen  Richford. 

"  I  can  bear  it  all  now,"  she  said.  "  Tell  me  every- 
thing, please." 

"  Up  to  the  present  there  is  very  little  to  say,"  In- 
spector Field  observed.  "  I  came  here  a  little  before 
ten  this  morning  to  open  Sir  Charles's  bedroom  so  as  to 
be  prepared  for  the  visit  of  the  jury  and  the  coroner. 
After  the  decision  arrived  at  by  both  doctors,  of  course 
the  inquest  to-day  would  have  been  quite  formal.  It 
would  have  been  deferred  for  a  few  days  pending  the 
6  81 


82  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

post-mortem  examination.  I  am  putting  it  as  deli- 
cately as  possible." 

"  Oh,  I  know,  I  know,"  Beatrice  said  with  a  shudder. 
"  Only  it  is  a  dreadful  thing  for  a  daughter  to  listen  to. 
Will  you  go  on,  please  ?  " 

"  In  the  course  of  my  duty  I  have  to  see  that  the 
seals  have  not  been  tampered  with.  Of  course  in  a 
large  hotel  like  this,  where  guests  are  in  the  corridor 
all  day  and  night,  I  never  for  a  moment  anticipated 
anything  wrong.  Still,  I  examined  the  seals  carefully 
and  they  appeared  to  me  to  be  absolutely  intact.  With 
my  sergeant  we  broke  the  seals  and  entered  the  room, 
the  door  of  which  was  locked.  Imagine  our  astonish- 
ment when  we  found  that  the  body  of  the  poor  gentle- 
man had  vanished.  In  all  the  extraordinary  cases  that 
have  ever  come  under  my  notice,  I  never  recollect  any- 
thing so  amazing  as  this." 

It  was  amazing,  stupendous  —  so  much  so,  that  no- 
body spoke  for  a  little  time.  Beatrice  had  taken  a  seat 
and  sat  waiting  for  somebody  to  ask  questions.  She 
was  no  longer  dazed  and  frightened;  her  brain  was 
working  rapidly.  It  seemed  to  her  that  she  would  be 
able  to  throw  a  light  on  this  mysterious  disappearance 
presently. 

"  Are  you  quite  sure  that  the  seals  are  intact  ?  "  Mark 
asked. 

aIf  you  had  asked  me  that  question  half  an  hour 
ago,  I  should  have  said  most  assuredly  so,  sir,"  Field 
replied.  "  I  looked  carefully  to  see.  We  always  do. 
How  on  earth  a  body  could  have  been  spirited  away. like 
this  with  people  about  till  late,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
night  watchman  going  his  rounds,  and  the  night  porter 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  83 

down  below  —  but  we  need  not  go  into  that  yet.  My 
seals  appeared  to  be  in  perfect  order." 

"  But  that  really  could  not  have  been  the  fact,"  Mark 
persisted.  "  I  fancy  we  can  dispense  with  the  idea 
that  Sir  Charles  was  removed  by  spiritual  agency. 
Now,  would  it  not  have  been  possible  for  anyone  to 
have  taken  an  impression  of  the  seals  ? " 

"  Just  possible,"  Field  admitted.  "  But  what  would 
have  been  the  use  of " 

"  A  great  deal  of  use,  it  seems  to  me,"  Mark  went  on. 
"  But  I  will  come  to  that  presently.  Let  us  take  one 
thing  at  a  time.  For  some  reason  or  other,  those 
scoundrels  have  found  it  imperatively  necessary  to 
spirit  away  the  body  of  Sir  Charles.  Perhaps  they 
are  afraid  of  the  result  of  a  post-mortem.  That  is 
another  point  we  need  not  bother  about  for  the  present. 
Did  you  give  any  orders  to  the  watchman  here  to  keep 
an  eye  on  that  door  ?  " 

"Well,  I  did,"  Field  admitted.  "I  particularly 
mentioned  the  seals,  in  case  any  very  zealous  housemaid, 
imagining  that  somebody  had  been  disfiguring  the 
doors,  should  remove  them." 

"  Then  if  the  seals  had  been  broken,  the  night  watch- 
man would  have  noticed  it  ?  " 

"  I  should  say  that  such  a  thing  was  highly  possible," 
Field  admitted  with  an  admiring  glance  in  the  direction 
of  his  questioner.  "  Really,  sir,  you  would  make  an 
admirable  detective.  You  mean  that  the  scoundrels 
might  require  some  little  time  in  the  next  room  and  that 
any  interruption  — — " 

"  Precisely,"  Mark  proceeded.  "  Let  us  admit,  for 
the  sake  of  argument,  that  these  men  were  staying  in  the 
hotel  last  night.     Where  so  many  people  come  and  go, 


84  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

they  would  not  be  noticed,  and,  on  the  whole,  that  plan 
would  be  safer.  If  they  were  seen,  even  in  the  dead  of 
night,  in  the  corridor  —  possibly  in  slippers  and  pa- 
jamas—  by  the  watchman,  no  suspicion  would  have 
been  aroused.  Previously  they  had  managed  to  get  an 
impression  of  the  seal  and  made  one  like  it.  They  then 
broke  the  seal  and  entered  the  room  by  means  of  a  mas- 
ter key.  The  confederate  outside  immediately  clapped 
on  another  seal,  and  those  inside  were  quite  safe  until 
they  were  ready.  After  the  body  was  stolen,  another 
seal  was  affixed  which  gave  them  plenty  of  time  and 
prevented  discovery  by  the  night  watchman,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  addition  of  mystery  to  the  thing." 

The  inspector  nodded  approvingly.  So  far  as  he 
could  see,  the  reasoning  was  perfectly  clear.  But  then 
it  did  not  tend  to  throw  any  light  on  the  strange  disap- 
pearance of  the  body. 

"  So  far  I  follow  you  perfectly,  sir,"  Field  said. 
"  Nothing  could  be  clearer  or  more  logical.  In  that 
way  it  would  be  comparatively  easy  to  enter  the  bed- 
room and  make  preparations  for  the  removal  of  the  body 
without  any  chance  of  being  interrupted.  At  this  part 
the  real  trouble  begins.  The  body  is  a  bulky  thing,  and 
has  to  be  removed  from  the  hotel.  How  was  that  to  be 
done  ?  How  could  it  be  done  without  somebody  know- 
ing?    That  is  where  I  am  at  fault." 

"  It  could  be  done  in  this  way,"  Mark  said.  "  The 
body  might  have  been  removed  to  a  bedroom  close  by 
and  packed  in  a  large  trunk  by  somebody  who  ostensibly 
was  going  by  a  very  early  train." 

"  Pardon  me,"  the  inspector  interrupted,  "  nobody 
went  by  an  early  train.  We  have  gone  into  that  most 
carefully.     Of  course  a  lot  of  people  have  left  early  to- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  85 

day  —  as  they  do  every  day  —  but,  so  far  as  I  can  hear, 
nobody  in  the  least  suspicious." 

"  Then  it  was  done  in  another  manner.  It  is  not 
quite  clear  to  me  how,  at  present,  although  I  have  my 
idea  on  the  subject.  Before  I  could  speak  definitely 
on  that  point  I  should  like  to  see  the  night  watchman 
and  the  hall  porter." 

But  neither  of  these  officials  was  present.  They 
had  gone  off  duty  at  seven  o'clock,  and  they  did  not  re- 
turn again  till  late  in  the  afternoon.  It  seemed  a  pity 
to  disturb  their  rest,  but  Field  decided  that  they  must 
be  sent  for  —  and  indeed  he  had  already  dispatched  a 
messenger  for  that  purpose.  Till  the  two  men  came  to 
the  hotel,  nothing  further  could  be  done  in  that  direc- 
tion.    There  was  a  little  pause  here. 

"  I  fancy  I  can  throw  some  light  on  this,"  Beatrice 
said.  "  In  the  first  place,  will  somebody  ascertain  for 
me  whether  the  Countess  de  la  Moray  and  General  Gas- 
tang  are  still  staying  in  the  hotel  ?  I  feel  pretty  sure 
they  are  gone,  but  it  is  just  possible  that  such  may  not 
be  the  case.  Let  this  inquiry  be  made  delicately, 
please." 

Inspector  Field  departed  to  ask  the  question  him- 
self. He  came  back  presently  with  the  information 
that  the  General  and  the  Countess  had  already  gone,  in 
fact  they  had  not  really  been  staying  in  the  hotel  at  all 
—  their  luggage  was  elsewhere,  as  the  hotel  they  gener- 
ally favoured  was  full  —  they  had  only  come  to  the 
Royal  Palace  Hotel  for  the  night,  and  it  had  been  their 
intention  to  proceed  to  Paris  in  the  morning. 

"  Then  it  is  General  Gastang  and  the  Countess  de  la 
Moray  that  we  have  to  look  after,"  Beatrice  cried. 
"  The  Countess  came  to  me  last  night  in  the  drawing- 


86  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

room.  She  professed  to  be  an  old  friend  of  my  father, 
and,  indeed,  I  must  confess  that  she  knew  a  great  deal 
about  the  family.  She  was  very  nice  indeed,  and 
asked  me  to  go  and  stay  with  her  near  Paris.  Being  a 
little  lonely  just  at  present,  I  quite  took  to  her. 
Subsequently  the  General  was  introduced  to  me.  He 
brought  a  message  to  the  Countess,  who  excused  herself. 
Then  some  stranger  came  in  and  the  General  vanished. 
He  was  quite  taken  aback  for  a  moment,  and  evidently 
went  in  deadly  fear  of  being  recognized.  Of  course 
this  aroused  my  suspicions.  I  had  heard  of  these  well- 
dressed,  good-class  swindlers  in  hotels  before,  and  im- 
mediately I  thought  of  my  jewels.  I  went  straight  to 
my  room  and  the  door  was  locked.  People  were  talk- 
ing inside  and  I  waited.  Then  the  door  opened  and  a 
man  came  out  and  walked  away." 

"  Would  you  recognize  that  man  again,  Miss  ?  "  Field 
asked  eagerly. 

"  I  should  certainly  be  able  to  recognize  him  again," 
Beatrice  said  quietly.  She  passed  the  point  over 
rapidly.  Something  prevented  her  —  shame,  perhaps 
—  from  saying  it  was  the  man  who  called  himself  her 
husband.  "  After  that  I  entered  my  room.  The 
Countess  was  taken  aback,  but  very  quickly  she  re- 
covered herself.  Then  I  noticed  that  there  was  a 
thread  of  silk  sticking  to  her  hands,  and  after  that  I 
further  noticed  that  her  hand  was  covered  with  wax. 
Even  then  the  truth  did  not  dawn  upon  me  till  I  saw  a 
similar  thread  sticking  to  the  seal  on  the  door  leading  to 
my  father's  room.  And  then  I  knew  that  the  Countess 
had  taken  an  impression  of  the  seal.  They  did  not 
dare  to  take  the  impression  in  the  corridor,  I  suppose, 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  87 

and  that  was  why  they  hit  upon  the  clever  expedient  of 
using  the  privacy  of  my  room  for  the  purpose." 

"  Excellent ! "  Field  said.  "  Nothing  could  be 
better.  Beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  these  people  are 
at  the  bottom  of  the  whole  business.  Did  you  frighten 
the  lady,  Miss  ?  " 

"  Not  in  the  least/'  Beatrice  replied.  "  I  was  par- 
ticularly careful  not  to  arouse  suspicions  that  I  had 
noticed  anything  out  of  the  common.  But  I  knew  per- 
fectly well  that  I  was  just  in  time  to  save  my  diamonds. 
However,  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question. 
The  Countess  came  back  very  late,  under  the  pretence 
that  she  required  my  services  as  her  maid.  She  man- 
aged to  drug  me  with  some  very  powerful  scent,  I  pre- 
sume, with  a  view  of  using  my  room  whilst  I  was  un- 
conscious, if  any  hitch  took  place.  But  you  may  be 
sure  that  these  people  are  under  the  impression  that 
nobody  could  possibly  identify  them  with  the  outrage. 
There  will  not  be  any  great  difficulty  in  tracing  them." 

"  Thanks  to  your  skill  and  courage,"  Field  said  ad- 
miringly. "  We  can  do  nothing  further  till  we  hear 
from  the  night  porter  and  his  colleague.  I  will  make 
a  few  inquiries  in  the  hotel,  and  I  shall  be  very  glad, 
Miss,  if  you  will  write  down  for  me  as  clear  and  as 
accurate  a  description  as  possible  of  the  General  and  the 
Countess." 

A  little  time  later  Beatrice  found  herself  alone  with 
Mark.  Colonel  Berrington  was  waiting  down  in  the 
hall.  Mark  looked  tenderly  into  Beatrice's  pallid, 
beautiful  face,  and  he  gently  stroked  her  head. 

"  This  is  a  very  dreadful  business  for  you,  darling," 
he  said.     "  Your  courage " 

"  My  courage  can  stand  any  strain  so  long  as  I  know 


88  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

that  I  am  free  of  my  husband,"  the  girl  said.  "  When 
I  think  of  my  troubles,  and  they  begin  to  overcome  me, 
I  always  go  back  to  that  reflection.  It  seems  to  lift  me 
up  and  strengthen  me.  Mark,  I  believe  I  should  have 
died,  or  killed  myself,  had  I  been  compelled  to  be  with 
that  man." 

"  You  have  not  seen  any  more  of  him,  I  suppose  ? " 
Mark  asked. 

"  Last  night,"  Beatrice  whispered.  "  Mark,  I  did 
not  tell  the  detective  one  thing  —  I  felt  that  I  really 
could  not.  I  spoke  of  the  man  who  was  closeted  in  my 
room  with  the  Countess.  I  said  I  would  recognize 
him  again.     It  was  my  husband,  Stephen  Richford." 

Mark's  face  expressed  his  amazement.  Before  he 
could  reply  the  door  opened  and  Inspector  Field  came 
in  again.     His  face  was  grave  and  stern. 

"  This  is  a  fouler  business  than  ever  I  imagined,"  he 
said.  "  Both  hall  porter  and  night  watchman  are  miss- 
ing. Neither  has  been  seen  at  their  lodgings  since  they 
left  duty  to-day." 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  story  had  gone  abroad  by  this  time.  All  Lon- 
don knew  of  the  strange  disappearance  of  the 
body  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll.  Of  course  the  wildest 
rumours  were  afloat,  the  cheaper  newspapers  had  de- 
tails that  had  been  evolved  from  the  brilliant  imagina- 
tion of  creative  reporters;  a  score  of  them  had  already 
besieged  the  manager  of  the  Royal  Palace  Hotel  and 
were  making  his  life  a  burden  to  him.  The  thing  was 
bad  enough  as  it  stood;  enough  damage  had  been  done 
to  the  prestige  of  the  hotel  without  making  matters 
worse  in  this  fashion. 

There  was  nothing  further  to  say  at  present  except 
that  the  news  was  true,  and  that  the  police  had  no  clue 
whatsoever  for  the  moment. 

"  Not  that  it  is  the  slightest  use  telling  them  any- 
thing of  the  kind,"  Field  muttered.  "  Whenever  there 
is  a  mystery  the  press  always  gives  us  the  credit  for 
the  possession  of  a  clue.  In  that  way  they  very  often 
succeed  in  scaring  our  game  away  altogether.  I  don't 
say  that  the  papers  are  useless  to  us,  but  they  do  more 
harm  than  good." 

All  the  same,  Field  was  not  quite  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  to  do.  Beatrice  had  given  him  a  full  and  ac- 
curate description  of  the  two  adventurers  who  had 
vanished,  leaving  no  trace  behind  them.  They  had 
suggested  that  all  their  belongings  were  at  the  Euro- 

89  " 


90  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

peon  Hotel,  but  a  question  or  two  asked  there  had 
proved  that  such  was  not  the  case. 

"  And  yet  they  have  gone  and  covered  up  their  tracks 
behind  them,"  Field  said.  "Why?  Miss  Darryll  — 
I  should  say,  Mrs.  Richford  —  is  quite  sure  that  she 
did  not  alarm  either  of  them.  Then  why  did  they  dis- 
appear like  this  ?  Perhaps  they  were  spotted  by  some- 
body else  over  another  matter.  Perhaps  the  gentleman 
who  so  scared  our  '  General '  in  the  drawing-room  of 
this  hotel  had  something  to  do  with  the  matter.  We 
shan't  get  much  further  on  the  track  of  this  interesting 
pair  until  I  have  had  a  talk  with  some  of  the  foreign 
detectives." 

"  You  can,  at  any  rate,  look  after  the  missing  hotel 
servants,"  Mark  suggested. 

But  that  was  already  being  done,  as  Field  proceeded 
to  explain.  It  was  just  possible  that  they  had  been  the 
victims  of  foul  play.  Most  of  the  newspaper  men  had 
been  cleared  out  by  this  time,  and  there  being  nothing 
further  to  learn,  the  hotel  resumed  its  normal  con- 
dition. People  came  and  went  as  they  usually  do  in 
such  huge  concerns ;  the  mystery  was  discussed  fitfully, 
but  the  many  visitors  had  their  own  business  to  attend 
to,  so  that  they  did  not  heed  the  half  score  of  quiet  and 
sternfaced  men  who  were  searching  the  hotel  every- 
where. At  the  end  of  an  hour  there  was  no  kind  of 
trace  of  anything  that  would  lead  to  the  whereabouts 
of  the  missing  men.  Colonel  Berrington  came  to  the 
head  of  the  grand  stairway  presently  holding  a  little 
round  object  in  his  hand. 

"  I  have  found  this,"  he  said.  "  It  is  a  button  with 
the  initials  R.  P.  H.  on  it,  evidently  a  button  from 
the  uniform  of  one  of  the  servants.     As  there  is  a  scrap 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  91 

of  cloth  attached  to  it,  the  button  has  evidently  been 
wrenched  off,  which  points  to  a  struggle  having  taken 
place.  Don't  you  feel  inclined  to  agree  with  me,  In- 
spector ? " 

On  the  whole  Inspector  Field  was  inclined  to  agree. 
Would  Colonel  Berrington  be  so  good  as  to  take  him  to 
the  exact  spot  where  the  button  was  found  ?  The  but- 
ton had  been  discovered  on  the  first  landing,  and  had 
lodged  on  the  edge  of  the  parquet  flooring  on  the  red 
carpet.  They  were  very  thick  carpets,  as  befitted  the 
character  of  the  hotel. 

Inspector  Field  bent  down  and  fumbled  on  the  floor. 
He  had  touched  a  patch  of  something  wet.  When  he 
rose  his  fingers  were  red  as  if  the  dye  had  come  out  of 
the  carpet. 

"  Blood,"  he  said,  as  if  in  answer  to  Berrington's 
interrogative  glance.  "  Very  stupid  of  us  not  to  think 
of  something  like  this  before.  But  these  carpets  are  so 
thick  and  of  so  dark  a  colour.  Beyond  doubt  some 
deed  of  violence  has  taken  place  here.     See." 

The  inspentor  smeared  his  hand  further  along  the 
carpet.  The  red  patch  was  very  large.  A  little  fur- 
ther along  the  wall  there  were  other  patches,  and  there 
was  the  mark  of  a  blood-stained  hand  on  the  handle  of 
a  door  which  proved  to  be  locked. 

"  Is  anybody  occupying  this  room  at  present  ?  "  Field 
asked  a  hotel  servant. 

"  Not  exactly,  sir,"  the  man  replied.  "  That  door 
gives  on  to  one  of  the  finest  suites  in  the  hotel.  It  is 
rented  by  the  Rajah  of  Ahbad.  His  Highness  is  not 
here  at  present,  but  he  comes  and  goes  as  he  likes.  He 
keeps  the  keys  himself,  and  the  door  is  only  opened  by 


92  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

his  steward,  who  comes  along  a  day  or  two  before  his 
royal  master." 

"  All  the  same  they  are  going  to  be  opened  now,"  said 
Field  grimly.  "  Go  and  tell  the  manager  that  I  want 
him  here  at  once.  I  suppose  there  are  master  keys  to 
this." 

But  there  were  no  master  keys  to  the  Royal  suite ;  the 
locks  had  been  selected  by  the  Rajah  himself.  It  was 
an  hour  or  more  later  before  a  locksmith  from  Milner's 
managed  to  open  the  door.  They  were  thick  doors, 
sheet  lined,  and  locked  top  and  bottom.  Field  switched 
up  the  electric  lights  and  made  a  survey  of  the  rooms. 
The  blinds  were  all  down  and  the  shutters  up.  Sud- 
denly Inspector  Field  gave  a  grunt  of  satisfaction. 

"  We  've  got  something  here,  at  any  rate,"  he  said. 
"  And  the  poor  chap  seems  to  be  badly  hurt.  Carry 
him  out  gently  and  see  if  the  doctor  is  still  here." 

A  body  lay  on  the  floor;  the  hands  and  arms  were 
secured  to  the  sides  by  straps;  a  tightly  rolled  pad  of 
black  cloth  was  fixed  in  the  poor  fellow's  mouth.  There 
was  a  ghastly  wound  on  the  side  of  his  head  from 
which  the  blood  was  still  oozing ;  a  great  deal  of  it  had 
congealed  on  his  collar.  A  slight  groan  proved  that  the 
victim  was  still  alive.  "  It 's  the  hall  porter,"  the  man- 
ager cried.  "  It 's  poor  Benwort.  What  a  horrible 
thing !  " 

"  Looks  like  concussion  of  the  brain,"  Field  said. 
"  Thank  goodness,  here  's  Dr.  Andrews.  We  will  make 
a  further  search  of  these  rooms,  for  it 's  pretty  certain 
that  the  other  fellow  is  here  also.  Ah,  I  felt  very  sure 
that  we  should  find  him." 

A  second  man,  also  in  the  livery  of  the  hotel,  lay  by 
a  sofa.     He  seemed  to  have  fared  better,  for  there  was 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  93 

no  blood  on  his  face,  though  a  great  swelling  over  his 
right  ear  testified  to  the  fact  that  he  had  been  severely 
handled.  He  was  not  insensible,  but  he  hardly  knew 
what  he  was  talking  about  as  he  was  placed  on  his  feet. 

"  Tell  us  all  about  it,"  the  inspector  said  encourag- 
ingly.    "  What  really  happened  ?  " 

"  Don't  ask  me,"  Catton,  the  night  watchman  said, 
as  he  held  his  hands  to  his  head.  "  My  brain  feels  as 
if  it  had  been  squeezed  dry.  Somebody  hit  me  on  the 
head  after  a  lady  in  grey  came  and  fetched  me.  A 
little  lady  in  grey,  with  a  sad  face  and  grey  eyes." 

Berrington  started  violently,  and  Mark  looked  up  in 
surprise.  The  grey  lady  —  Beatrice's  Slave  of  Silence 
—  seemed  to  run  through  this  mystery  like  the  thread 
of  a  story.  It  was  an  entirely  interesting  moment,  but 
unhappily  the  night  watchman  could  say  no  more. 

"  Don't  worry  me  so,"  he  whined.  "  Put  some  ice 
on  my  head  and  let  me  sleep.  I  dare  say  I  shall  be 
able  to  puzzle  it  out  in  time.  Somebody  carried  some- 
thing down  the  stairs;  then  the  big  door  opened  and 
the  night  porter  whistled  for  a  cab.     That 's  all." 

The  speaker  lurched  forward  and  appeared  to  fall 
into  a  comatose  state.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to 
put  him  to  bed  without  delay.     Field  looked  puzzled. 

"  I  suppose  that  poor  fellow  was  talking  coherently 
in  snatches,"  he  said.  "  No  doubt  just  after  he  got 
that  crack  on  the  head  he  did  see  a  bulky  package  taken 
downstairs.  But  then  he  says  he  heard  the  door  open 
and  a  cab  whistled  for  by  the  night  porter.  Now  that 's 
impossible,  seeing  that  the  night  porter  got  his  quietus 
also.  Now  who  called  up  that  cab?  Evidently  some- 
body did,  and  no  doubt  the  cab  came.     Well,  we  shall 


94  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

find  that  cab.  Saunders,  go  at  once  and  see  what  you 
can  do  in  the  direction  of  finding  that  cab." 

The  mystery  seemed  to  get  deeper  and  deeper  the 
more  Field  got  on  the  track.  He  could  quite  understand 
how  it  was  that  both  of  these  hotel  servants  had  been 
put  out  of  action,  so  to  speak,  but  who  was  the  grey 
lady  who  had  given  the  note  of  warning,  and  why  had 
those  two  men  been  placed  in  the  suite  of  rooms  belong- 
ing to  the  Rajah  of  Ahbad?  The  gagging  and  the 
hiding  were  all  right,  and  that  line  of  policy  gave  all 
the  more  time  to  the  ruffians  who  had  done  this  thing. 
Also  it  was  possible  on  reflection  to  understand  why 
the  Rajah's  room  had  been  chosen,  as  no  search,  but  for 
the  bloody  door  handle,  would  have  been  made  there. 
But  where  had  those  people  procured  those  patent 
Brahma  lock  keys  from  ? 

The  wild  supposition  that  the  Rajah  himself  was  in 
the  business  was  absurd.  That  idea  might  be  dismissed 
on  the  spot.  The  more  Field  thought  of  it  the  more 
was  he  puzzled.  He  would  take  an  early  opportunity 
of  seeing  the  Rajah. 

"  He 's  a  quiet  sort  of  man,"  the  hotel  manager 
explained.  "  I  should  fancy  that  he  has  an 
English  mother,  by  the  look  of  him.  Anyway,  he  is 
English  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  having  been  edu- 
cated at  Eton  and  Oxford.  He  only  took  these  rooms 
a  few  months  ago ;  he  was  brought  here  after  a  bad  ill- 
ness, and  when  he  went  away  he  was  carried  to  his 
carriage.  But  they  say  he  's  all  right  now.  But,  Mr. 
Inspector,  you  don't  mean  to  say  that  you  think  that  the 
Rajah " 

"  Has  any  hand  in  this  business  ?  Of  course  I 
don't,"  Field  said  testily.     "  I  'm  just  a  little  put  out 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  95 

this  morning,  so  you  must  forgive  my  bad  temper. 
The  more  one  digs  into  the  thing,  the  more  black  and 
misty  it  becomes.  I  think  I  '11  go  as  far  as  the  Yard 
and  have  a  talk  to  one  or  two  of  our  foreign  men. 
Well,  Saunders  ? " 

"  Well,  I  've  done  some  good,"  Saunders  said.  "  I 
have  not  found  the  cabman  we  want,  but  I  've  got  on 
the  track  of  another  who  can  tell  me  something  useful. 
He  's  a  night  man,  and  he  is  waiting  down  in  the  hall 
for  you  at  this  moment,  sir." 

"  I  think  I  '11  go  along,  if  you  don't  mind,"  Berring- 
ton  suggested. 

Field  had  no  objection  to  make,  and  together  the  two 
descended  to  the  hall.  A  little,  apple-faced,  shrivelled- 
looking  man  was  waiting  for  them.  There  was  no 
reason  to  ask  his  occupation  —  London  cabman  was 
written  all  over  him  in  large  letters. 

"  I  can't  tell  you  much,  sir,"  he  said.  "  It  was  just 
past  two  when  I  heard  the  whistle  here.  I  was  waiting 
with  my  cab  at  the  corner  of  Shepherd  Street.  It 's  out 
of  my  line  a  bit,  but  I  pulled  up  there  in  the  hopes  of 
getting  a  return  fare.  When  I  heard  the  whistle  I  came 
up  with  my  cab,  but  I  was  just  a  shade  too  late.  There 
was  another  cab  before  me,  a  black  cab  with  a  black 
horse,  a  rather  swell  affair.  The  driver  was  wearing  a 
fur  coat  and  a  very  shiny  top  hat.  We  had  a  few 
words,  but  the  hotel  porter  told  me  to  be  off,  and  I  went 
back  to  the  stand  where  I  stayed  till  just  daylight.  No- 
body else  left  the  hotel  in  a  cab." 

"  This  is  important,"  Field  muttered.  "  By  the 
way,  would  you  recognize  the  hall  porter  again  ?  You 
would!  Then  come  this  way  and  we  will  see  if  you 
can." 


96  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

But  the  cabman  was  quite  sure  that  the  damaged 
man  lying  on  the  bed  at  the  top  of  the  hotel  was  not 
the  same  one  who  had  ordered  him  away  a  few  hours 
before.  He  was  quite  sure  because  the  lights  in  the 
hotel  portico  were  still  full  on,  and  he  had  seen  the 
hall  porter's  face  quite  distinctly. 

"  A  regular  plant,"  Field  exclaimed.  "  A  clever 
thing  indeed.  Was  the  black  cab  empty  when  it  came 
up,  or  was  there  anybody  inside  it  ? " 

"  Somebody  was  inside  it,"  was  the  prompt  reply. 
"  A  pale  gentleman,  very  lame  he  was.  He  tried  to  get 
out  of  the  cab  but  the  driver  pushed  him  back,  and  he 
and  the  hall  porter  hoisted  the  big  trunk  on  top  of  the 
cab.     And  that 's  all,  sir." 

Berrington  listened  intently.  He  was  struggling 
with  some  confused  memory  in  which  the  grey  lady  and 
Stephen  Richford  were  all  mixed  up  together.  Sud- 
denly the  flash  of  illumination-  came.  He  smote  his 
hand  on  his  knee. 

"  I  've  got  it,"  he  cried.  "  I  've  got  it.  The  lame 
man  of  No.  100  Audley  Place !  " 


CHAPTER  XIII 

BERRINGTON'S  exclamation  of  surprise  was  not 
lost  upon  Inspector  Field.  He  stood  obviously 
waiting  for  the  gallant  officer  to  say  something.  As 
there  was  a  somewhat  long  pause,  the  inspector  took  up 
the  parable  for  himself. 

"  In  a  great  many  cases  that  come  under  our  hands, 
80  many  give  us  a  chance,"  he  said.  "  We  allow  some- 
thing for  luck.  More  than  once  in  looking  up  one  busi- 
ness I  have  come  across  a  burning  clue  of  another." 

"  What  is  the  meaning  of  all  this  philosophy,  Mr. 
Field  ?  "  Berrington  asked. 

"  Well,  I  think  it  is  pretty  obvious,  if  you  care  to 
see  it.  We  are  engaged,  just  for  the  present,  on  look- 
ing for  a  private  hansom,  painted  black,  in  which  is 
seated  a  lame  gentleman.  The  rest  of  our  investigation 
does  not  matter  just  now,  because  we  have  beyond  doubt 
actually  traced  the  parties  who  conveyed  the  body  of 
Sir  Charles  from  the  hotel.  When  the  lame  gentle- 
man is  spoken  of  you  say  something  about  No.  100, 
Audley  Place.  It  is  quite  obvious  that  you  know 
something  of  the  man,  or  at  any  rate  you  think  you  do. 
May  I  point  out  that  it  is  your  duty  to  help  us  if  you 
can." 

Berrington  looked  uncomfortable.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  say  nothing  as  to 
Audley  Place. 

"  There  are  several  Audley  Places  in  the  Directory," 
i  97 


98  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Field  went  on.  "  I  am  sure  you  would  not  put  us  to 
the  trouble  of  looking  them  all  up,  sir.  Tell  me  all  you 
know.  Anything  that  you  may  say  will  be  treated  as 
confidential." 

"  I  quite  see  your  reasoning,"  Berrington  replied. 
"  Let  me  tell  you  that  I  should  have  said  nothing  — 
for  the  present,  at  any  rate  —  had  I  not  betrayed  my- 
self. Look  here,  Field,  I  might  just  as  well  inform  you 
that  we  are  treading  on  very  delicate  ground  here.  As 
soon  as  I  begin  to  speak,  Sir  Charles's  daughter  comes 
into  the  business." 

"  You  mean  Miss  Darryll  —  Mrs.  Richford,  I  should 
say.     How,  Colonel  ?  " 

"  Because  I  am  quite  sure  that  she  knows  something 
of  the  matter.  In  the  first  place  you  must  understand 
that  the  marriage  was  the  reverse  of  a  love  match.  Sir 
Charles's  affairs  were  in  anything  but  a  prosperous  con- 
dition at  the  time  of  his  death." 

"  In  fact  he  was  on  the  point  of  being  arrested  in 
connection  with  a  certain  company,"  Field  said  coolly. 
"  I  got  that  information  from  the  City  Police.  It  was 
a  mere  piece  of  gossip,  but  I  did  not  identify  it  as  in 
any  way  connected  with  the  subsequent  tragedy." 

"  Well,  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  it  had 
an  important  bearing  on  the  mystery.  As  far  as  I  could 
judge  after  the  wedding  there  was  a  quarrel  between 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richford " 

"  Ah !  "  Field  exclaimed.  His  face  was  shrewd  and 
eager.     "  Can  you  tell  me  what  about  ?  " 

"  Indeed,  I  cannot.  I  cannot  even  guess.  But  I 
can't  see  what  that  has  to  do  with  it." 

"  Can't  you  indeed,  sir  ?  "  Field  asked  drily.  "  Mrs. 
Richford  shall  tell  me  herselfj  presently.     But  we  are 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  99 

getting  no  nearer  to  the  lame  gentleman  in  Audley 
Place." 

"  Oh,  yes  we  are.  Let  us  admit  that  quarrel.  I  am 
certain  of  it  because  yesterday  Mr.  Richford  had 
luncheon  at  the  same  table  as  myself.  He  ordered  a 
steak  and  potatoes.  When  it  came,  he  asked  the  waiter 
who  had  been  putting  salt  on  his  plate.  Sure  enough 
there  was  salt  on  the  plate  and  in  the  shape  of  a  bullet. 
Directly  Richford  saw  that,  his  whole  aspect  changed. 
He  was  like  one  beside  himself  with  terror.  He  did 
not  know  that  I  was  watching  him,  he  knew  nothing 
beyond  the  horror  of  the  moment." 

"  You  mean  that  shaped  salt  had  some  hidden  mean- 
ing, sir  ?  "  Field  asked. 

"  I  am  certain  of  it.  Now  don't  run  your  head  up 
against  the  idea  that  you  are  on  the  track  of  some 
political  society,  or  that  Anarchism  has  anything  to  do 
with  it  It  so  happens  that  I  have  seen  that  salt  sign 
before  in  India  under  strange  circumstances  that  we 
need  not  go  into  at  the  present  moment.  The  man  who 
pointed  it  out  to  me  disappeared  and  was  never  heard 
of  again.  The  sign  was  in  his  own  plate  at  dinner. 
A  little  later  I  was  enabled  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  the 
whole  thing ;  the  story  shall  be  told  you  in  due  course. 

"  Well,  I  wanted  to  see  what  Mr.  Richford  would 
do  next.  Was  the  sign  an  imperative  one  or  not? 
Evidently  it  was,  for  he  got  up,  finished  his  brandy, 
and  left  the  table  without  having  had  a  single  mouthful 
of  food.  Under  ordinary  conditions  I  should  have 
taken  no  action,  but  you  see  Mrs.  Richford  is  a  great 
friend  of  mine,  and  I  was  anxious  to  see  how  far  her 
husband  was  in  with  these  people.  To  make  a  long 
story  short,  I  followed  Richford's  cab  and  traced  him 


100  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

to  No.  100,  Audley  Place,  which  is  somewhat  at  the 
back  of  Wandsworth  Common.  There  I  was  so  for- 
tunate as  to  find  a  policeman  who  had  been  in  my  regi- 
ment, and  he  gave  me  all  the  information  he  could  as 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  house.  The  gist  of  that  in- 
formation was  that  the  owner  of  the  house  was  a  lame 
gentleman  who  sometimes  went  out  in  a  bath  chair. 
Now  you  do  see  why  I  cried  out  when  the  cabman  fin- 
ished his  story  to-day  ?  " 

Field  nodded  thoughtfully.  He  saw  perfectly  well. 
For  a  little  time  he  was  silent,  piecing  the  puzzle  to- 
gether. On  the  whole  he  was  more  than  satisfied  with 
the  morning's  work. 

"  I  see,"  he  said  at  length.  "  The  lame  gentleman, 
of  course,  sent  the  message  to  Mr.  Richford.  Within 
a  few  hours  the  body  of  Sir  Charles  disappears.  Why, 
then,  was  this  message  sent?  So  that  the  lame  man 
could  get  posted  in  all  his  facts  with  a  view  to  stealing 
the  body.  In  other  words,  Mrs.  Richford's  husband 
was  a  party  to  that  daring  crime.  Why  that  body  was 
fetched  away  we  cannot  inquire  into,  at  present.  What 
I  want  to  know,  and  what  I  must  know,  is  what  Mrs. 
Richford  and  her  husband  quarrelled  about." 

Berrington  winced.  He  had  no  pleasant  vision  of 
Beatrice  being  cross-examined  by  this  sharp,  shrewd 
policeman.  And  yet  the  thing  was  inevitable.  Field's 
eyes  asked  a  question. 

"  All  right,  Inspector,"  Berrington  said,  not  without 
some  irritation.  "  I  '11  go  and  see  the  lady,  and  let  her 
know  what  you  have  already  found  out.  I  suppose  it 
is  fatal  to  try  and  conceal  anything.  This  comes  of  a 
lady  marrying  such  a  sweep  as  that." 

Beatrice  listened  calmly  enough  to  all  Berrington  had 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  101 

to  say.  It  was  not  nice  to  have  to  tell  her  story  over 
again,  but  she  decided  to  conceal  nothing.  She  had 
done  a  foolish  thing,  a  wrong  thing  to  save  her  father, 
and  the  world  was  going  to  know  the  whole  sordid  truth. 
But  so  long  as  Mark  stood  by  her,  what  did  the  opinion 
of  the  world  matter  ? 

"  Ask  Inspector  Field  in  here,"  she  said.  "  No,  I 
do  not  blame  you,  my  dear  old  friend.  Is  it  not  far 
better  that  everything  should  come  out?  A  dreadful 
crime  has  been  committed  and  the  guilty  should  be 
punished,  whoever  they  are." 

Inspector  Field  came  in,  very  sorry  and  very  apolo- 
getic for  the  trouble  he  was  causing.  He  was  quite 
different  from  the  hard  man  who  had  been  cross-ex- 
amining Berrington  outside. 

"  I  fancy  you  can  give  me  certain  information,"  he 
said.  "  I  have  some  little  hesitation  in  saying  any- 
thing personal  as  to  the  character  of  Mr.  Richford " 

"  You  need  not  hesitate,"  Beatrice  said  bitterly,  "  on 
my  account.  I  am  going  to  speak  freely,  and  all  the 
more  so  because  I  see  the  possibility  of  having  to  repeat 
it  all  in  the  witness  box.  I  married  my  husband  with 
the  sole  idea  of  saving  my  father  from  dis " 

"  Unpleasantness,"  Field  said  swiftly.  "  There  is  no 
occasion  for  anything  of  that  kind  to  come  out  in  the 
witness  box.  For  family  reasons  you  became  Mrs. 
Richford.  There  is  no  reason  why  your  sacrifice  should 
have  been  altogether  in  vain." 

"  That  is  very  good  of  you,"  Beatrice  said  gratefully. 
"  Let  me  say  that  I  am  not  in  love  with  the  man  whose 
name  I  am  supposed  to  bear.  Had  anything  happened 
to  my  father  before  yesterday,  my  marriage  would 
never  have  taken  placa     My  quarrel  with  my  husband 


102  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

was  that  he  knew  my  father  was  dead  two  hours  before 
the  ceremony  was  fixed  to  take  place." 

Hardened  as  he  was,  Field  started.  This  informa- 
tion was  unexpected  as  it  was  dramatic. 

"  I  am  not  speaking  idly,"  Beatrice  went  on.  "  I 
came  back  here,  directly  my  father's  death  came  to  my 
ears.  In  his  room  I  found  a  telegram.  It  was  dated 
yesterday,  the  hour  was  clearly  marked  upon  it  — 
about  ten  o'clock  yesterday  morning.  That  telegram 
was  addressed  to  my  husband;  it  was  found  by  me 
close  to  my  father's  body.  The  doctor  said  that  Sir 
Charles  had  been  dead  some  hours  before  he  was  dis- 
covered. Therefore  I  had  conclusive  proof  in  my  hands 
that  my  husband  had  seen  my  father's  corpse  and  that 
he  had  stolen  out  of  the  room  and  said  nothing,  know- 
ing that  I  should  never  be  his  wife  if  he  spoke  the 
truth." 

"  It  seems  almost  incredible,"  Field  muttered. 
"  What  did  Mr.  Eichford  say  ?  " 

"  What  could  he  do  or  say  beyond  admitting  the 
truth  of  my  accusation  ?  Even  his  cunning  failed  be- 
fore the  production  of  that  fateful  telegram.  He  had 
to  admit  everything,  he  had  to  admit  that  the  telegram 
belonged  to  him,  that  he  had  occasion  to  see  my  father 
very  early  on  pressing  business,  and  that  he  had  not 
raised  the  alarm  because  he  knew  if  he  did  so  he  would 
lose  me.  At  one  time  the  suite  of  rooms  in  which  we 
stand  was  rented  by  Mr.  Richford ;  indeed  his  term 
has  not  expired  yet,  and  that  is  why  my  father  came 
here.  I  can  tell  you  little  if  any  more.  What  I  said 
to  my  husband  does  not  matter  in  the  least.  I  told 
him  plainly  that  I  had  done  with  him,  and  I  hope  that 
I  may  never  see  him  again." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  103 

Field  had  few  questions  to  ask  further.  A  hundred 
theories  were  flying  through  his  nimble  brain.  Beatrice 
seemed  to  divine  something  of  this. 

"  In  common  fairness  I  am  bound  to  say  that  Mr. 
Richford  could  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  my 
father's  death,"  she  said.  "  In  the  first  place  he  had 
everything  to  gain  by  Sir  Charles  keeping  his  health. 
I  know  the  doctors  are  suspicious  that  there  is  foul 
play  somewhere,  but  recollect  that  they  are  prepared  to 
swear  to  my  father's  death  some  hours  before  his  body 
was  found.  A  little  before  ten,  Mr.  Richford  must 
have  been  at  home  or  he  could  never  have  had  that  tele- 
gram. Therefore  it  was  after  ten  before  he  sought  out 
my  father,  who,  according  to  the  medical  view  of  the 
cause,  had  passed  away  hours  before." 

"  That  is  very  cleverly  and  logically  reasoned,"  Field 
said,  not  without  admiration.  "  And  in  any  case  Mr. 
Richford  would  be  able  to  give  a  really  convincing 
account  of  the  reason  why  he  remained  silent  —  espe- 
cially after  a  jury  had  seen  you  in  the  witness  box." 

It  was  a  pretty  compliment  and  a  tribute  to  Field's 
sound  judgment  as  to  human  nature,  but  Beatrice  did 
not  appear  to  heed  his  words. 

"  I  had  better  finish  and  tell  you  everything,"  she 
said.  "  I  have  said  everything  I  can,  in  common  fair- 
ness to  my  husband.  I  feel  convinced  that  if  there  was 
foul  play  he  had  no  hand  in  it,  no  actual  hand,  that  is. 
But  there  is  another  side  to  the  question.  I  have  al- 
ready told  you  all  about  the  Countess  and  the  General. 
I  told  you  how  my  suspicions  were  aroused,  and  when  I 
came  up  to  my  room  as  quickly  as  possible  —  the  door 
was  shut  and  two  people  were  talking1  inside.  You 
asked  me  just  now,  Inspector  Field,  if  I  could  recog- 


104  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

nize  the  man  again  —  the  man  who  was  in  the  room 
when  the  Countess  was  actually  taking  impressions  of 
the  seals  on  the  door,  and  I  said  I  could.  Can  you 
guess  who  that  man  was  ?  " 

The  inspector  looked  puzzled  for  a  moment,  then  the 
light  of  illumination  came  over  his  face.  He  glanced 
up  eagerly ;  his  dark  eyes  were  dancing. 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  it  was  Mr.  Eichford  ?  " 
he  asked. 

"  Indeed  I  do,"  Beatrice  said  quietly,  "  I  had  in- 
tended to  keep  that  piece  of  information  to  myself,  but 
you  have  forced  my  hand.  Of  actual  crime,  of  actual 
murder,  I  am  quite  sure  that  Stephen  Richford  is  in- 
nocent. But  as  to  the  rest  I  cannot  say.  At  any  rate 
I  have  concealed  nothing  that  is  likely  to  injure  the 
course  of  justice." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

INSPECTOR  FIELD  took  up  his  hat  and  gloves 
from  the  chair  where  he  had  deposited  them.  He 
was  satisfied,  and  more  than  satisfied  with  the  inter- 
view.    In  a  short  time  he  had  achieved  excellent  results. 

"  We  will  not  trouble  Mrs.  Richford  any  more  at 
present,"  he  said.  "  It  may  be  some  consolation  to  her 
to  know  that  I  agree  with  all  her  reasonings.  But 
there  is  plenty  of  work  to  do." 

Field  bowed  himself 'out,  followed  by  Berrington. 
The  latter  asked  what  the  inspector  was  going  to  do. 

"  In  the  first  place  I  am  going  down  to  the  Yard," 
Field  explained.  "  I  am  then  going  to  get  rid  of  my 
correspondence  and  have  my  dinner.  After  that  till 
it  gets  dark  I  propose  to  pursue  what  Lord  Beaconsfield 
called  a  policy  of  masterly  inactivity  for  a  time.  Once 
it  is  really  dark,  I  intend  to  go  as  far  as  Wandsworth 
Common,  and  learn  something  of  the  gentleman  who  is 
lame  and  has  a  private  hansom  painted  black.  You 
see,  sir,  the  scene  of  the  story  is  changed.  The  next 
act  must  be  played  out  at  Wandsworth." 

"  You  have  some  settled  plan  in  your  mind  ?  "  Ber- 
rington asked. 

"  Indeed  I  have  not,  sir.  I  may  make  no  more  than 
a  few  simple  inquiries  and  come  home  again.  On  the 
other  hand,  before  morning  I  may  find  myself  inside  the 
house.  I  may  even  return  with  the  lame  gentleman  as 
my  prisoner.     It  is  all  in  the  air." 

105 


106  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  By  Jove,"  Berrington  cried.  "  I  should  like  to  go 
with  you.  As  an  old  campaigner,  and  one  with  some 
little  knowledge  of  strategy  I  may  be  useful.  Any- 
thing is  better  than  sitting  here  doing  nothing.  Would 
you  very  much  mind,  Inspector  ? " 

Field  regarded  the  brown,  eager,  clever  face  and 
steadfast  eyes  of  the  questioner  shrewdly. 

"  I  shall  be  delighted,  sir,"  he  said  heartily,  "  with 
one  proviso  —  that  you  regard  me  as  your  senior  officer 
and  commander  in  this  business.  Military  strategy  is 
one  thing,  the  hunting  of  criminals  quite  a  different 
thing.  I  shall  start  from  the  Yard  before  ten  o'clock, 
and  even  then  I  shall  not  make  my  way  to  Wands- 
worth direct.  We  are  dealing  with  an  exceedingly 
clever  lot,  and  it  is  just  possible  that  I  may  be  watched. 
Therefore  I  shall  disguise  myself,  and  you  had  better 
do  the  same.  Then  you  can  meet  me  at  eleven  o'clock 
where  you  like." 

"  That's  a  bargain,"  Berrington  said  eagerly.  "  I  '11 
go  over  to  Wandsworth  pretty  early  and  try  to  see  my 
police  friend,  Macklin.  At  eleven  o'clock  I  shall  be 
under  the  trees  opposite  Audley  Place,  waiting  for  you. 
Probably  I  shall  assume  the  disguise  of  a  sailor." 

"  Um,  not  a  bad  idea,"  Field  remarked.  "  We  will 
both  be  sailors  just  paid  off  from  a  ship  and  with  money 
in  our  pockets.  Sailors,  in  that  condition  who  have 
assimilated  a  fair  amount  of  liquid  refreshment,  do 
strange  things.  Oh,  we  shall  be  all  right.  Merchant 
seamen  let  us  be,  from  the  ship  Severn.,  just  home  from 
South  America.     Good  afternoon,  sir." 

It  was  nearly  ten  before  Berrington  reached  the  ren- 
dezvous. He  was  perfectly  disguised  as  a  sailor  fresh 
from  a  tramp  steamer,  his  clothes  were  dirty  and  grimy, 


The  police  officer  looked  suspiciously  at  the  figure."     Page  107. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  107 

and  the  cap  in  his  hand  had  a  decided  naval  cock.  So 
far  as  he  could  judge  there  were  no  lights  visible  at  No. 
100,  opposite.  He  waited  for  Macklin  to  come  along, 
which  presently  he  did.  The  police  officer  looked  sus- 
piciously at  the  figure  in  a  slumbering  attitude  on  the 
seat,  and  passed  before  him. 

"  Now,  then,"  he  said  sharply.  "  What  are  you 
doing  here  ?     Come  out  of  that." 

Berrington  came  unsteadily  to  his  feet  and  blinked 
into  the  lane  of  light  made  by  the  policeman's  lantern. 
He  was  rather  proud  of  his  disguise  and  the  way  in 
which  it  was  passing  scrutiny. 

"  All  right,  Macklin,"  he  said  in  his  natural  voice. 
"  It 's  Colonel  Berrington.  Not  quite  the  same  sort  of 
disguise  that  I  tried  to  pass  into  the  Madi  Haifa  camp 
with  when  you  were  on  guard  that  night.  Still  it  took 
you  in,  didn't  it  ?  " 

"  It  did  indeed,  sir,"  Macklin  said,  not  without  ad- 
miration. "  And  might  I  beg  to  ask  what  manner  of 
game  the  Colonel  of  my  old  regiment  is  up  to  in  London 
at  this  hour  ?  " 

"  We  need  not  go  into  details,  Macklin,"  Berrington 
said.  "  Regard  me  as  your  senior  officer  for  a  moment, 
and  answer  my  questions  without  comment.  As  I  told 
you  yesterday,  I  am  interested  in  that  house  opposite. 
Have  you  found  out  anything  ?  " 

"  Nothing  worth  speaking  about,  sir,"  Macklin  re- 
plied. "  They  seem  to  be  just  respectable  people  who 
have  plenty  of  money  and  very  few  visitors.  Last  night 
about  half  past  eleven  the  old  gentleman  went  out  in  a 
cab,  and  came  back  about  half  past  two  with  a  friend 
who  had  a  big  box  on  the  top  of  the  cab.  That 's  all  I 
can  tell  you." 


108  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Ah,  perhaps  that  is  more  important  than  it  seems," 
Berrington  muttered.     "  Anything  to-day  ?  " 

"  Nothing  to-day,  sir.  Oh,  yes,  there  is.  The  par- 
lourmaid reported  to  the  man  who  is  doing  day  duty 
here  this  week  that  the  house  would  be  closed  till  Satur- 
day, and  that  the  police  were  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  place 
at  night.     Looks  as  if  they  've  gone,  sir." 

Berrington  swore  quietly  and  under  his  breath.  It 
seemed  to  him  as  if  he  and  Eield  were  going  to  have 
their  trouble  for  their  pains.  No.  100  was  not  the  kind 
of  house  where  people  are  unduly  economical  on  the 
score  of  lights,  and  there  was  not  one  to  be  seen. 

"  I  should  like  to  go  and  have  a  prowl  around,"  Ber- 
rington said,  after  a  pause.  "  I  suppose  if  I  did,  I 
shouldn't  have  any  officious  policeman  to  reckon  with." 

"  Well,  sir,  I  'm  not  quite  sure,"  Macklin  said 
dubiously.  "  Of  course  I  know  you  to  be  a  gentleman 
as  wouldn't  do  anything  in  the  least  wrong,  but  there  's 
my  sergeant  to  consider.  Still,  as  this  is  on  my  beat, 
no  other  officer  is  likely  to  see  you." 

"  Good,"  Berrington  exclaimed.  "  What  time  will 
you  be  back  here  again  %  " 

Macklin  calculated  that  he  would  reach  the  same  spot 
again  an  hour  or  so  later, —  about  eleven  o'clock,  to  be 
exact.  The  hour  tallied  precisely  with  the  coming  of 
Eield,  and  in  the  meantime  Berrington  was  free  to  make 
what  he  could  of  the  house  opposite. 

But  there  was  precious  little  to  be  gained  in  that 
respect.  The  house  was  all  fastened  up,  there  were 
shutters  to  the  windows  on  the  ground  floor ;  the  garden 
was  tried  next,  but  there  was  no  litter  anywhere  such 
as  might  have  been  caused  by  a  hasty  removal.     Clearly 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  109 

if  the  house  was  closed  up  it  was  only  for  a  day  or  two, 
as  the  parlourmaid  had  told  the  policeman. 

At  the  end  of  an  hour  Berrington  was  not  a  whit  wiser 
than  before. 

He  crossed  over  the  road  and  there  on  a  seat  under 
the  trees  was  a  sailor  like  himself.  Field  did  not  as- 
sume to  be  asleep  but  was  pulling  at  a  short  clay  pipe. 

"  Come  and  sit  down,  sir,"  he  said.  "  I  Ve  just 
come.  As  I  anticipated,  I  am  being  watched.  But  I 
managed  to  give  my  shadowers  quite  a  wrong  impres- 
sion and  I  passed  from  the  house,  where  I  keep  a  few 
stock  disguises,  under  their  very  noses.  They  imagine 
that  they  are  following  me  up  West  by  this  time." 

"  I  am  afraid  all  the  trouble  has  been  wasted,"  Ber- 
rington said  irritably.     "  The  birds  have  flown." 

"  Indeed,  sir.  And  who  did  you  get  that  valuable 
piece  of  information  from  ?  " 

"  From  my  friend  the  policeman  that  I  told  you 
about.  The  house  is  shut  up  for  a  few  days  and  the 
authorities  have  been  informed  of  the  fact.  I  have 
been  all  around  the  house  and  it  is  as  silent  as  the 
grave." 

"  Well,  that  might  be  merely  a  blind,  after  all,"  Field 
said  cheerfully.     "  When  did  they  go  ?  " 

"  So  far  as  I  can  gather  from  Macklin,  they  departed 
early  this  morning." 

Field  chuckled  but  said  nothing.  A  little  while 
later  there  was  a  thud  of  heavy  boots  on  the  pavement, 
and  Macklin  and  his  sergeant  came,  together.  The 
latter  was  about  to  say  something  but  Field  produced 
his  card  and  the  effect  was  instantaneous. 

"  !No,  we  don't  want  any  assistance  at  all,"  the  Scot- 
land Yard  official  said.     "  All  you  can  do  is  to  go  about 


110  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

your  work  as  if  nothing  was  taking  place.  You  may 
notice  something  suspicious  presently  at  No.  100,  across 
the  road,  but  you  are  to  ignore  it.     You  understand  ?  " 

The  sergeant  nodded  and  touched  his  helmet;  he 
understood  perfectly  well.  The  two  passed  on  together 
and  the  sham  sailors  crossed  the  road.  Very  quietly 
Eield  proceeded  to  the  back  of  the  house.  It  was  a 
little  dark  here,  and  he  guided  himself  by  pressing  his 
fingers  to  the  walls.  Presently  he  stopped,  and  a  low 
chuckle  came  from  his  lips. 

"  Discovery  the  first,  sir,"  he  said.  "  Press  your 
hand  on  the  wall  here.     What  do  you  notice  ?  " 

But  Berrington  noticed  nothing  beyond  the  fact  that 
the  wall  was  quite  warm.  He  said  so,  and  the  inspector 
chuckled  once  more.  He  seemed  to  be  pleased  about 
something. 

"  That  should  tell  you  a  story,  sir,"  he  said.  "  That 
house  is  supposed  to  be  empty;  nobody  has  been  here 
since  early  this  morning.  If  you  will  look  up,  you  will 
see  that  the  blank  wall  terminates  in  a  high  chimney  — 
obviously  the  kitchen  chimney.  This  wall  is  quite  hot, 
it  is  the  back  of  the  kitchen  fireplace  —  so  obviously,  if 
those  people  went  early  to-day  there  would  be  very  little 
fire,  in  fact  the  range  would  have  been  out  long  ago. 
And  what  do  we  find  ?  A  hot  wall  that  tells  of  a  good 
fire  all  day,  a  good  fire  at  this  moment,  or  these  bricks 
would  have  cooled  down  before  now.  If  you  listen  you 
will  hear  the  boiler  gently  simmering." 

It  was  all  exactly  as  Field  had  said.  Perhaps  the 
servants  had  been  sent  away  for  a  day  or  two,  indeed,  it 
was  very  probable  that  they  had.  But  there  was  the 
big  fire  testifying  to  the  fact  that  somebody  was  in  the 
house  at  that  very  moment. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  111 

"  We  are  going  to  take  risks,"  Field  whispered.  "  If 
we  are  discovered  we  shall  be  given  into  custody  as  two 
drunken  sailors,  given  into  the  custody  of  your  friend 
Macklin  and  his  sergeant,  from  whom  we  shall  probably 
escape.  You  may  be  very  sure  that  we  shall  not  be 
charged,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  people  here  don't 
want  their  names  or  anything  about  them  to  get  into 
the  papers;  in  fact,  the  less  they  see  of  the  police  the 
better  they  will  be  pleased.     Come  along." 

Field  strode  around  to  the  kitchen  window.  The 
shutters  were  up,  but  not  so  in  the  larder,  which  had  no 
bars,  and  was  only  protected  by  a  square  of  perforated 
zinc.  The  inspector  took  a  tool  from  his  pocket  and 
with  great  care  and  dexterity,  and  without  making  the 
least  noise,  removed  the  zinc  from  its  place.  Then  a 
lantern  flamed  out. 

"  Come  along,"  said  Field,  -"  we  can  easily  get 
through  here.  We  shall  be  safe  in  the  kitchen,  for  we 
know  that  the  maids  are  not  in  the  house." 

For  the  present  everything  was  absolutely  plain  sail- 
ing. And  as  Field  had  anticipated  there  was  nobody 
in  the  kitchen  and  nobody  in  the  corridor  leading  to 
the  better  part  of  the  house.  All  the  same,  a  big  fire, 
recently  made  up,  was  roaring  in  the  range,  showing 
that  the  place  was  not  quite  deserted.  And  yet  it  was 
as  silent  as  the  grave. 

It  was  the  same  in  the  hall,  and  the  same  in  the 
living-rooms,  where  no  lights  gleamed.  From  some- 
where upstairs  came  a  sound  as  if  somebody  was  gently 
filing  some  soft  metal.  The  noise  ceased  presently  to 
be  followed  by  the  rattle  of  a  typewriter,  or  so  it  seemed. 
The  two  adventurers  stood  in  the  darkness  of  the  dining- 
room  listening;  it  seemed  to  them  as  if  that  rattle  was 


112  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

getting  closer.  Field  flashed  a  light  into  the  room,  but 
it  was  quite  empty ;  the  polished  mahogany  of  the  table 
reflected  the  flowers  on  it. 

Then  suddenly  the  rattle  grew  louder,  and  Field  hid 
his  light  under  the  slide.  As  suddenly  as  his  light  had 
faded  out,  the  dining-room  glowed  in  a  perfect  bank  of 
shaded  yellow  light,  as  if  by  magic  the  table  stood  with 
a  perfect  meal,  a  dainty  cold  supper  with  glass  and 
silver  and  crystal  and  gold-topped  bottles  upon  it;  the 
whole  thing  seemed  a  most  wonderful  piece  of  conjur- 
ing. At  the  same  instant  there  was  the  rattle  of  a 
latch-key  in  the  front  door.  Field  pulled  hisi  com- 
panion into  the  darkness  of  the  drawing-room  doorway. 
A  man  came  in,  peeled  off  his  coat,  and  entered  the 
dining-room.     Field  gasped. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  Berrington  asked.  "  Do 
you  know  who  it  is  ?  " 

"  Rather,"  Field  replied,  "I  should  say  that  I  do. 
Why !  that 's  no  other  than  the  Rajah  of  Ahbad !  Well, 
if  this  doesn't  beat  all !  " 


CHAPTER  XV 

USED  as  he  was  to  quick  scenes  and  dramatic 
changes,  Berrington  was  surprised  for  the  mo- 
ment. The  thing  was  like  some  bewildering  Eastern 
vision.  A  moment  ago  the  place  had  been  dull  and 
dark,  and  now  like  a  flash,  warmth  and  light  were  there, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  tasteful  extravagance  of  the  sup- 
per-table. Berrington  could  see  the  fruit  and  the 
flowers,  the  dainty  confections  and  the  costly  wines. 
How  had  the  thing  been  managed  ? 

But  it  was  no  moment  to  speculate  about  that.  So 
far  it  merely  tended  to  prove  the  almost  diabolical 
cleverness  of  the  people  with  whom  the  police  had  to 
deal.  The  Rajah  himself  could  be  seen  standing  mood- 
ily in  the  doorway  chewing  a  cigar  between  his  strong, 
yellow  teeth.     Berrington  observed  him  very  carefully. 

As  one  who  knew  India,  Berrington  was  in  a  position 
to  judge  the  man  fairly  well.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
newcomer  did  not  look  in  the  least  like  an  Eastern  poten- 
tate. True,  his  skin  was  dark,  but  not  more  sallow  than 
that  of  many  a  European.  His  hair  was  thick,  but  his 
eyes  were  dark  blue,  and  his  dress  was  eminently  that 
of  a  man  about  town.  With  his  public  school  and  Uni- 
versity education,  the  Rajah  had  passed  for  an  English- 
man. 

"  What  sort  of  a  reputation  does  he  bear  ?  "  Berring- 
ton asked  in  a  whisper. 

"  Shady,"  Field  replied  briefly.     "  What  you  call  a 
8  113 


114  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

renegade,  I  should  say.  Has  all  the  vices  of  both 
hemispheres,  without  the  redeeming  features  of  either. 
Low-class  music  halls,  ballet  dancers,  prize-fighters  and 
the  like.  At  the  same  time  he  's  got  the  good  sense  not 
to  flaunt  these  vices  before  the  public,  and  he  knows  how 
to  conduct  himself  with  dignity  when  there  is  any  neces- 
sity for  it.  Despite  his  handsome  income,  he  is  fre- 
quently in  dire  need  of  money.  Still,  I  should  never 
have  identified  him  with  this  business  had  I  not  seen 
him  here.  I  had  no  idea  that  he  even  knew  Sir  Charles 
Darryll  and  Mr.  Richford." 

The  Rajah  stood  there  biting  his  nails  impatiently, 
as  if  waiting  for  somebody.  He  crossed  over  to  the 
table  and  opened  a  bottle  of  champagne  to  which  he 
helped  himself  liberally.  The  fizz  of  the  wine  could  be 
distinctly  heard  in  the  drawing-room. 

"  I  'd  give  half  my  pension  to  know  how  that  thing  is 
worked,"  said  Berrington.  "  A  moment  ago  there  was 
nothing  on  that  table,  and  now  look  at  it!  It  would 
have  taken  the  staff  of  a  large  hotel  half  an  hour  to 
arrange  a  meal  like  that.  The  flowers  alone  would  have 
occupied  the  time.     The  servants  here " 

"  You  may  bet  your  life  that  the  servants  know 
nothing  about  it,"  Field  said.  "  They  have  been  sent 
away  right  enough.  I  feel  quite  sure  that  they  are  in- 
nocent of  everything.  It  would  never  do  to  let  domes- 
tics talk  of  these  matters." 

The  Rajah  was  pacing  up  and  down  the  dining-room 
talking  to  himself.  A  moment  later  there  was  a  rattle 
of  a  latchkey  and  two  people  came  in.  The  first  was  a 
young  man  with  the  unmistakable  stamp  of  the  actor  on 
him,  smart,  well  groomed,  clean  shaven,  the  society 
actor  of  to-day.     He  was  followed  by  an  exceedingly 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  115 

pretty,  fair-haired  woman,  who  might  have  belonged  to 
the  same  profession.  Just  for  the  moment  it  occurred 
to  Field  that  these  were  ordinary  guests  who  knew  noth- 
ing of  the  mystery  of  the  house.  There  was  nothing 
about  either  of  them  to  connect  them  with  crime  or 
mystery. 

They  pitched  their  wraps  carelessly  on  the  hall  table 
as  if  they  had  been  there  before,  and  made  their  way  to 
the  dining-room.     The  Rajah's  face  grew  eager. 

"  Well,  my  children,"  he  said  in  excellent  English, 
"  have  you  had  any  luck  ?  Cora,  dear,  tell  me  that  you 
have  succeeded  in  our  little  counterplot.  " 

The  woman's  pretty  face  grew  hard.  She  pulled  a 
chair  up  to  the  table  and  sat  down. 

"  Give  me  some  of  that  pate  and  open  a  bottle  of 
champagne,"  she  said.  "  What  with  this  doubling 
about  and  covering  up  one's  tracks,  I  've  had  no  time  to 
think  of  food.  The  same  remark  applies  to  poor 
Reggie  here.  Haven't  we  succeeded  well  enough  for 
you  ?  " 

"  Well,  yes,  you  managed  the  big  thing  all  right,  but 
that 's  not  everything.  You  managed  the  big  thing  so 
well  that  the  police  are  utterly  baffled  and  don't  know 
which  way  to  look.  But  the  stones,  carissima,  the 
sparkling  stones.     What  of  them  ?  " 

The  woman  gave  a  shrug  of  her  ivory  shoulders. 
She  could  be  plainly  seen  by  the  watchers  lost  in  the 
darkness  of  the  drawing-room. 

"  The  deplorable  luck  was  against  us,"  she  said.  "  I 
actually  had  my  hands  upon  the  stones  and  nearly 
snatched  them  away  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  adorable 
Richford.  I  said  to  myself  we  are  not  going  to<lo  his 
work  for  nothing.     He  followed  me  to  the  room  where 


116  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

the  stones  were  and  we  talked.  You  see  I  had  business 
in  the  room  as  you  know.  And  Reggie  here  was  down- 
stairs, making  himself  agreeable  to  the  fair  owner  of 
the  stones,  so  that  I  had  a  free  hand  in  the  matter.  If 
Reggie  had  not  been  so  indiscreet  as  to  leave  the  poor 
child " 

"  But  what  could  I  do  ? "  the  man  called  Reggie 
protested.  "  Never  was  so  cruel  a  piece  of  bad  luck  in 
the  history  of  war.  Who  should  come  down  but  Lang- 
ford  ?  " 

"  But  you  were  so  carefully  disguised  that  Langford 
could  not  possibly  have  known  you,"  the  woman  said. 

"  I  admit  it.  I  positively  had  forgotten  the  fact  for 
the  moment.  The  sight  of  Langford  was  such  a  shock 
to  me.  On  the  spur  of  the  moment  I  made  my  excuses 
and  departed." 

"  Leaving  the  little  girl  uneasy  and  suspicious,"  said 
the  woman,  "  so  that  she  came  up  to  her  room  where  I 
was  and  walked  off  with  the  gems.  I  was  very  near  to 
taking  her  by  the  throat  and  half  strangling  her.  But 
there  were  greater  issues  at  stake  and  I  had  to  restrain 
my  feelings.  I  had  to  smile  and  nod  and  play  my  part 
whilst  the  little  lady  was  sending  the  jewels  off  to  the 
safe  custody  of  the  hotel  clerk.  I  could  have  danced 
with  fury,  I  could  have  wept  with  rage.  But  what  was 
the  good  ? " 

The  Rajah  swore  roundly  and  passionately.  He 
could  be  seen  from  the  drawing-room,  striding  about  the 
place  and  muttering  as  he  went. 

"  It  is  more  than  unfortunate,"  he  said.  "  If  we 
could  have  got  hold  of  those  jewels  we  should  have  had  a 
fortune  in  our  grasp.  We  were  quite  justified  in 
robbing  Richford,  who  only  serves  me  for  his  own  ends. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  117 

He  is  a  bully  and  a  coward  and  he  must  pay  the  price. 
He  says  that  he  has  no  ready  money,  that  his  affairs  are 
more  desperate  than  we  imagine.  And  yet  he  could 
find  the  cash  to  buy  those  diamonds." 

"  They  always  mean  cash,"  the  woman  said.  "  It  is 
a  good  thing  for  the  wife  of  a  speculator  to  be  in  pos- 
session of  a  lot  of  fine  diamonds.  It  would  have  been 
a  precious  good  thing  for  us,  too,  if  Reggie  had  not  lost 
his  nerve  last  night." 

"  Have  you  any  idea  who  those  people  are  ? "  asked 
Berrington  of  his  companion. 

"  Not  personally,"  Field  replied,  "  but  I  have  a 
pretty  shrewd  idea.  It  is  very  good  of  them  to  come 
here,  just  as  nature  made  them,  and  without  disguises. 
Surely  you  know  what  they  are  talking  about?  The 
discussion  is  over  Mrs.  Richford's  diamonds  which  she 
nearly  lost,  as  she  told  me.  Unless  I  am  greatly  mis- 
taken, we  are  listening  to  a  confession  of  the  way  in 
which  that  robbery  had  been  planned.  Stripped  of 
their  very  clever  disguises,  these  two  people  yonder  are 
no  other  than  Countess  de  la  Moray  and  General  Gas- 
tang." 

Berrington  nodded,  wondering  why  he  had  not  found 
them  out  before.  From  the  dining-room  came  the 
sound  of  a  match,  as  the  Rajah  lighted  another  cigar. 

"  We  shall  have  to  go  back  to  our  original  scheme," 
he  was  saying.  "  There  was  never  anything  better. 
We  must  get  the  other  man  into  this.  He  must  be 
frightened.     Send  him  the  salt." 

There  was  another  rattle  of  the  latchkey,  and  the 
watchers  were  not  in  the  least  surprised  to  see  Richford 
come  in,  with  the  air  of  a  man  who  is  quite  at  home. 
He  was  looking  white  and  anxious  and  a  little  annoyed 


118  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

as  he  took  off  his  coat  and  entered  the  dining-room. 
Unhappily  he  closed  the  door  behind  him,  so  that  no 
more  conversation  could  be  heard. 

"  That's  unlucky,"  Field  said  in  a  vexed  tone. 
"  What  does  that  salt  allusion  mean  ?  You  recollect 
telling  me  that  Richford  was  frightened  by  finding  that 
salt  on  his  plate  ?  " 

"  It 's  a  kind  of  Indian  dodge,"  Berrington  proceeded 
to  explain.  "  It  has  to  do  with  caste  and  religious  ob- 
servances and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  Don't  be  deceived 
with  the  idea  that  you  are  on  the  track  of  an  Anarchist 
society  or  anything  of  that  kind." 

"Is  it  something  more  or  less  on  the  line  of  free- 
masonry, then  ?  "  Field  asked. 

"  Well,  yes,  you  can  put  it  that  way  if  you  like," 
Berrington  said  thoughtfully.  "  I  made  a  special  study 
of  that  kind  of  thing  in  India,  though  I  only  came 
across  the  salt  fetich  a  few  times.  It  seemed  to  me  to 
be  more  religious  than  anything  else,  though  in  one  or 
two  instances  it  was  attended  by  tragedy.  There  was 
a  young  native  prince  who  was  a  great  friend  of  mine 
and  he  was  about  to  be  married  to  a  princess  who  was 
as  bright  and  intelligent  as  himself.  She  had  been 
educated  like  himself  in  Europe,  so  that  they  were  free 
from  a  deal  of  superstition  and  prejudice.  The  prince 
was  dining  at  my  bungalow  one  night  when  I  noticed  a 
little  bullet  of  salt  on  his  plate.  It  was  useless  to  ask 
him  how  it  got  there  for  one  could  never  have  elicited 
the  truth  from  any  of  the  native  servants.  My  friend 
got  dreadfully  pale  for  a  moment,  but  he  turned  it  off 
and  he  thought  no  more  about  the  matter.  But  the  next 
day  the  prince  was  found  dead  in  his  bed ;  he  had  shot 
himself  with  a  revolver." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  119 

"  And  you  never  got  to  the  bottom  of  it  ? "  Field 
asked  with  pardonable  curiosity. 

"  Never.  There  are  mysteries  in  India  that  puzzle 
us  as  much  as  they  did  in  the  good  old  days  of  John 
Company.     What 's  that  noise  ?  " 

There  was  a  sound  like  the  rumble  of  wheels  along 
the  hall,  and  presently  appeared  a  kind  of  invalid  chair, 
self-propelled  by  its  occupant,  a  little  man  with  a  pale 
face  and  dark  eyes.  He  paused  before  the  dining-room 
door  and  rattled  the  handle. 

"  Evidently  the  master  of  the  house,"  Berrington 
suggested.  "  The  lame  man  who  can't  walk.  It  was 
he  who  sent  the  message  to  Richford." 

"  Sure  enough,"  Field  exclaimed.  "  Must  have  been 
in  the  abduction  business.  Evidently  the  same  gentle- 
man who  was  waiting  in  the  black  cab  outside  the  Royal 
Palace.  Rather  a  nice  looking  man,  with  by  no  means 
unpleasant  face.  Hope  they  won't  shut  the  door  upon 
him." 

Somebody  opened  the  dining-room  door  at  this  mo- 
ment and  the  lame  man  steered  himself  in.  Where  he 
had  come  from  was  a  mystery,  as  the  house  had  ap- 
peared to  be  quite  empty  when  Berrington  and  his  com- 
panion entered  it.  Clearly  the  man  could  not  have 
come  from  the  upper  part  of  the  premises,  for  his 
physical  condition  disposed  of  that  suggestion. 

"  Well,  my  friends,"  the  newcomer  cried  gaily,  "  very 
glad  to  see  you  all  safe  and  sound  again.  So  our  little 
scheme  has  not  been  a  failure.  Richford,  judging  from 
the  gloom  on  your  brow,  you  have  not  had  the  luck  you 
desire.  You  must  be  content  with  the  knowledge  that 
virtue  brings  its  own  reward.  And  yet  if  you  only 
knew  it  you  are  the  most  fortunate  of  men.     For  your 


120  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

sweet  sake  we  have  undertaken  difficulties  and  dangers 
that " 

"  Oh,  shut  up,"  Richford  growled.  "  I  don't  under- 
stand what  you  are  driving  at.  Anybody  would  think 
that  you  were  no  more  than  a  silly  child  who  had  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  attend  to  your  flowers  and  stick  your 
postage  stamps  in  your  album.     And  yet " 

"  And  yet  I  can  give  my  attention  to  more  serious 
matters,"  the  cripple  said  with  a  sudden  stern  expres- 
sion and  in  a  voice  that  had  a  metallic  ring  in  it. 
"  You  are  right.  And  if  you  two  have  eaten  and  drunk 
enough  we  will  get  to  business." 

There  was  a  little  stir  amongst  the  listeners,  the 
Rajah  pitching  his  cigar  into  the  grate  and  coming 
forward  eagerly.  Evidently  something  was  going  to 
happen. 


CHAPTER  XVI     • 

COOL'  and  collected  as  he  usually  was,  even  Field 
was  excited  now.  He  crept  as  near  to  the  draw- 
ing-room door  as  he  dared,  and  peeped  into  the  ring  of 
light,  eagerly.  He  popped  back  hurriedly  as  the  man 
called  Reggie  and  the  Rajah  came  into  the  hall  and  pro- 
ceeded to  enter  a  room  opposite,  under  the  direction  of 
the  little  cripple.  Richford  seemed  to  be  vague  and 
irritated. 

"  What  the  deuce  is  the  good  of  all  this  mystery  ? " 
he  asked.  "  Why  don't  you  come  to  the  point,  Sartoris  ? 
But  no,  you  must  always  be  so  infernally  close,  just  as 
if  you  were  the  only  one  of  us  who  rejoices  in  the  pos- 
session of  brains." 

"  Well,  so  I  am,"  Sartoris  said,  without  the  least  dis- 
play of  temper.  "  You  don't  delude  yourself  that  you 
are  a  person  of  intellect,  surely  ?  Cunning  you  have  of 
a  low  order,  the  mean,  vulgar  cunning  that  enables 
people  to  make  money  in  the  city.  But  that  is  not  in- 
tellect, my  dear  friend  —  intellect  is  quiet  another 
matter.  We  very  nearly  landed  ourselves  in  a  serious 
mess  because  I  did  not  care  to  trust  you  too  far.  And 
when  we  were  face  to  face  with  that  mess,  what  good 
were  you  ?  What  good  was  anybody  besides  myself  ? 
Where  was  the  brain  that  schemed  out  everything  and 
made  success  certain  ?  True,  I  had  allies  upon  whom 
I  could  depend  —  Reggie  and  Cora,  for  example.  But 
they  could  have  done  nothing  without  me.     And  now 

121 


122  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

we  have  the  thing  in  our  hands  again.  Come  along, 
then." 

Richford  subsided,  muttering  to  himself.  From  the 
room  opposite  came  the  sound  of  somebody  moving  a 
heavy  package  of  some  kind,  and  presently  the  man 
called  Reggie  and  the  Rajah  appeared  shuffling  a  big 
case  between  them.  The  box  scraped  over  the  polished 
parquet  floor,  leaving  deep  scratches  as  it  went;  amidst 
a  strained,  breathing  silence  it  was  pushed  into  the 
dining-room.  Sartoris  watched  these  proceedings  with 
a  curious  gleam  in  his  eyes. 

"  So  far,  so  good,"  he  said.  "  All  we  want  now  is 
Bentwood.  He  's  very  late.  Go  out  and  see  if  you  can 
make  anything  of  him,  Reggie.  If  that  fellow  has 
dared  to  get  drunk  to-night,  I  '11  give  him  a  lesson  that 
will  last  him  for  the  rest  of  his  life." 

The  little  man's  voice  grew  harsh  and  grating.  Evi- 
dently he  was  a  man  that  it  would  be  dangerous  to  trifle 
with.  A  curious  silence  fell  over  the  little  group;  the 
whole  room  grew  so  still  that  Field  could  hear  his  com- 
panion breathing.  They  were  perfectly  safe  up  to  now, 
but  if  anybody  happened  to  go  into  the  drawing-room 
for  anything,  and  they  were  discovered,  each  knew  that 
his  life  was  not  worth  a  minute's  purchase.  Very 
steadily  Sartoris  steered  his  chair  to  the  side  of  the  big 
case  on  the  floor,  and  his  hands  began  to  fumble  with 
the  strings. 

The  front  door  opened  with  a  bang  that  startled 
everybody,  for  nerves  were  strung  up  to  high  tension 
and  the  least  noise  came  with  a  startling  force.  The 
door  burst  open,  only  to  be  as  quietly  closed,  and  a 
big  man,  with  a  red  face  and  small  red  eyes,  reeled 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  123 

across  the  hall  and  almost  collapsed  in  a  heap  on  the 
floor. 

"  Night,"  he  said  unsteadily,  "  night,  all  of  you. 
You  may  say  that  I  've  been  drinking.  Nothing  of  the 
kind.  The  man  who  says  I  've  been  drinking  lies.  Ex- 
periment. Nothing  in  the  world  but  a  lot  of  experi- 
ments which  a  braver  man  than  I  would  shrink  from. 
Sartoris,  if  you  say  I  am  drunk,  then  I  say  that  you 
are  a  liar." 

"  I  should  be  a  liar  if  I  agreed  with  you,"  Sartorig 
said.     "  The  whole  place  reeks  of  drink." 

"  So  it  does,"  the  newcomer  said  with  amiability. 
"  Upon  my  word,  you  yourselves  seem  to  be  doing  re- 
markably well  while  I  've  been  working  for  the  good 
of  the  community.  Give  me  a  bottle  of  champagne,  to 
begin  with.  Poor  stuff,  champagne,  only  fit  for  women. 
But  then,  there  appears  to  be  nothing  else  —  why " 

The  big  red-faced  man  reached  his  hand  out  and 
Sartoris  caught  him  a  savage  blow  on  the  knuckles. 
The  little  man's  face  was  livid  with  fury,  his  eyes 
flashed  like  electric  points. 

"  Pig,  beast,  drunken  hound,"  he  screamed.  "  Have 
you  no  sense  of  shame  or  duty  ?  After  to-night  I  will 
give  you  a  lesson.  After  to-night  you  shall  know  what 
it  is  to  play  with  me." 

The  man  called  Bentwood  lapsed  into  sudden  dignity. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said.  "  Have  it  your  own  way. 
When  you  say  that  I  am  drunk  you  outrage  my  feelings. 
You  don't  seem  to  understand  that  you  can't  get  on 
without  me.  If  I  like  to  snap  my  fingers  in  your  face 
you  are  powerless.  But  I  do  nothing  of  the  kind — ■ 
such  is  not  my  nature.  Give  me  a  glass  of  brandy  and 
I  shall  be  myself  again." 


124  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Just  for  a  moment  Sartoris  seemed  to  he  fighting 
down  the  rage  that  consumed  him.  It  was  evidently  a 
big  struggle,  but  the  mastery  came. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said.  "  I  '11  do  as  you  want.  Wait 
a  moment." 

The  invalid  carriage  rolled  rapidly  across  the  room 
and  down  a  long  passage  to  the  back  of  the  house. 
When  Sartoris  came  back  again  he  had  a  glass  in  his 
hand  and  a  cup  of  black  coffee  balanced  on  the  chair 
before  him.  Bentwood  snatched  eagerly  at  the  glass 
and  drained  it  at  a  gulp.  Then  he  pressed  his  hand  to 
his  heart  and  staggered  back. 

"  My  God,  you  have  poisoned  me,"  he  gasped.  "  The 
pain !     The  pain !     I  can't  breathe." 

"  You  '11  be  all  right  in  a  moment,"  Sartoris  said. 
"  I  don't  profess  to  your  wonderful  medical  knowledge, 
but  some  things  I  know,  and  one  of  them  is  how  to  treat 
a  man  in  your  condition.  What  you  regard  as  poison  is 
a  strong  does  of  sal-volatile  —  as  strong  a  dose  as  I  dare 
venture  to  give  even  to  a  powerful  man  like  you.  Now 
drink  this  coffee." 

There  was  a  ring  of  command  in  the  tone  which  was 
not  to  be  disobeyed.  As  soon  as  Bentwood  had  re- 
gained his  power  of  speech,  he  drank  his  coffee.  After 
the  harsh,  astringent  drug,  the  flavour  was  soothing  and 
gratifying.  In  a  marvellously  short  space  of  time  the 
big  man  grew  quiet  and  a  little  ashamed  of  himself. 
His  face  was  less  red,  he  became  more  quiet  and  sub- 
dued in  his  manner. 

"  I  am  truly  sorry,  Sartoris,"  he  said.  "  I  'm  afraid 
I  was  very  drunk  and  rude  just  now.  But  I  was  not 
entirely  to  blame.  Would  any  man  be  entirely  to  blame 
who  had  led  a  life  like  mine!     The  things  that  I  have 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  125 

seen,  the  things  that  I  should  like  to  find  out!  Then 
the  madness  comes  on  me  and  I  must  drink  or  destroy 
myself.  I  fought  for  the  possession  of  myself  to-day 
until  I  was  a  mere  nervous  rag  of  a  man,  if  I  had  fought 
much  longer  I  should  have  blown  my  brains  out.  And 
what  would  you  have  done  then  ?  " 

The  man's  tone  was  eager,  almost  passionate.  Sar- 
toris  bent  his  head  down  so  that  the  expression  of  his 
face  could  not  be  seen  by  anyone. 

"  Say  no  more  about  it,"  he  said.  "  You  are  quite 
sober  now,  which  is  the  important  part  of  the  case.  I 
will  discuss  the  other  matter  with  you  on  a  future 
occasion." 

The  speaker's  tones  were  smooth  enough,  but  his  eyes 
gleamed  like  coals  of  fire.  He  was  bending  again  and 
fumbling  with  the  straps  of  the  great  packing  case. 
Field,  watching  everything  intently,  asked  Berrington 
what  he  thought  of  it  all. 

"  I  hardly  know  what  to  think,"  the  latter  whispered. 
"  This  has  been  a  night  of  surprises  —  therefore  you 
will  be  prepared  to  hear  that  I  know  the  man  Bentwood 
well." 

"  You  mean  that  you  knew  him  in  India  ? "  Field 
asked. 

"  Yes,  years  ago.  He  was  an  army  surgeon,  and 
quite  the  cleverest  man  at  his  profession  that  I  ever  had 
the  privilege  to  meet.  He  might  have  made  a  large  for- 
tune in  England,  but  he  got  into  some  trouble  and  had  to 
leave  the  country.  It  was  much  the  same  in  India. 
Bentwood  had  a  positive  genius  for  the  occult  and  un- 
derground. After  a  time  very  few  white  people  cared 
to  associate  with  him  and  he  became  the  companion  of 
the  dervishes  and  the  mullahs  and  all  that  class,  whose 


126  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

secrets  he  learned.  I  believe  he  is  the  only  European 
who  ever  went  through  the  process  of  being  buried  alive. 
That  secret  was  never  betrayed  before,  and  yet  yonder 
fellow  got  to  the  bottom  of  it.  Also  he  learned  all  the 
secret  poisons  that  they  use  out  yonder,  and  we  were 
pretty  sure  that  he  was  mixed  up  in  the  great  scandal 
that  followed  the  sad  death  of  the  Rajah  of  Abgalli. 
You  recollect  that  ?  " 

Field  nodded.  He  had  a  fine  memory  for  all  stories 
of  that  kind. 

"  We  always  said  that  Bentwood  was  the  actual  cul- 
prit, and  that  he  experimented  with  certain  poisons 
that  produced  quite  new  results.  Some  said  that  the 
Rajah  committed  suicide.  Perhaps  the  poison  admin- 
istered to  him  took  that  form.  Anyway,  Bentwood  dis- 
appeared, and  it  was  generally  understood  that  he  met 
his  death  by  falling  out  of  a  boat  when  shooting  sea 
fowl.  That  was  the  story  that  one  of  his  servants 
brought  back,  but  we  could  never  ascertain  how  far  that 
fellow  was  in  his  master's  pay.  Anyway,  a  year  later 
one  of  our  men  came  back  from  his  long  leave,  saying 
that  he  had  seen  Bentwood  at  Monte  Carlo,  and  that  he 
appeared  to  be  bursting  with  money.  Another  of  ours 
was  reported  to  have  seen  him  after  that,  almost  in  rags, 
in  London.  Anyway,  he  is  an  amazingly  clever  man, 
and  perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  scamps  that  ever  lived. 
Still,  if  we  get  any  luck  to-night,  he  will  almost  have 
shot  his  bolt." 

"  I  think  you  may  safely  reckon  upon  that,"  Field 
said  drily.  "  It 's  exceedingly  lucky  for  me  that  I  ran 
up  against  you  in  this  way,  Colonel.  But  for  that  ac- 
cident I  should  have  been  utterly  at  fault.  Anyway,  I 
should  not  be  here  at  this  moment." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  127 

There  was  no  chance  for  further  talk,  for  by  this  time 
Sartoris  had  released  the  straps  of  the  packing  case  and 
raised  the  lid.  The  others  stood  around  him,  looking 
white  and  anxious,  with  the  exception  of  Bentwood,  who 
was  smoking  a  cigarette  quite  carelessly.  With  an  im- 
patient gesture,  Sartoris  pointed  to  the  case  by  his 
side. 

"  Now,  then,"  he  said  curtly,  "  are  you  people  going 
to  keep  me  waiting  all  night?  Do  you  think  that  a 
cripple  like  me  can  do  everything  ?  Give  a  hand  here, 
you  men,  whilst  one  of  the  others  clears  the  table.  Pull 
the  cloth  off." 

There  was  a  clatter  of  china  and  glass  and  a  clink  of 
bottles,  at  the  sound  of  which  Bentwood  looked  around 
with  a  sudden  spasmodic  grin  on  his  face.  But  Sar- 
toris scowled  at  him  furiously,  and  he  turned  his  watery 
gaze  in  another  direction.  The  table  was  clear  now, 
and  the  Rajah,  with  the  help  of  the  man  called  Beggie, 
and  Bichford,  raised  some  inanimate  object  from  the 
trunk.  It  was  limp  and  heavy,  it  was  swathed  in  sheets, 
like  a  lay  figure  or  a  mummy.  As  the  strange  thing 
was  opened  out  it  took  the  outlines  of  a  human  body,  a 
dread  object,  full  of  the  suggestion  of  crime  and  mur- 
der and  violence.  Berrington  breathed  hard  as  he 
watched. 

"  If  we  only  dared  to  do  something,"  he  muttered. 
"  I  suppose  it  is  easy  to  guess  what  they  have  there  ?  " 

"  Easy  enough,  indeed,  sir,"  Field  said  between  his 
teeth.  "  It 's  the  body  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll.  There 
is  a  deeper  mystery  here  than  we  are  as  yet  aware  of. 
They  are  laying  the  body  out  on  that  table  as  if  for 
some  operation.     I  don't  know  what  to  think ;  I  — > — " 

"  Shut  that  door,"   Sartoris  commanded  in  a  hard 


128  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

high  voice.  "  There  is  a  deuce  of  a  draught  coming  in 
from  somewhere.  You  don't  want  that,  eh,  Bent- 
wood  !  " 

Bentwood  muttered  that  it  was  the  last  thing  he  did 
desire.  The  door  closed  with  a  bang,  there  was  a  long 
silence,  broken  at  last  by  a  feeble  cry  of  pain,  a  cry 
something  like  that  of  a  child  who  suffers  under  some 
drug.  Berrington  leaped  to  his  feet.  As  he  would 
have  crossed  the  hall  a  figure  came  along  —  the  figure 
of  a  woman  in  a  grey  dress.  It  was  the  grey  lady  that 
Beatrice  had  seen  on  that  fateful  evening,  the  woman 
who  had  sat  by  the  side  of  Mark  Ventmore  in  the  Paris 
theatre.     She  wrung  her  hands  in  silent  grief. 

"  Oh,  if  only  there  was  somebody  to  help  me,"  she 
said.  "  If  God  would  only  give  to  me  and  send  to  me 
a  friend  at  this  moment,  I  would  pray " 

Berrington  stepped  out  into  the  light  of  the  hall. 

"  Your  prayer  has  been  answered,"  he  said  quietly. 
"  I  am  here  to  help  you,  Mary." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  grey  lady  stood  there,  with  her  hands  pressed 
to  her  heart,  her  great  pathetic  eyes  dilated  with 
a  curious  fear.  It  was  a  long  time  before  she  spoke, 
though  it  was  easy  to  see  that  she  had  penetrated  Ber- 
rington's  disguise.  But  then,  he  had  spoken  in  his 
natural  voice,  which  made  all  the  difference.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  the  grey  lady  would  have  fallen  had  he  not 
put  out  his  hand  and  supported  her  slender  frame. 

"  Wait  a  bit,"  Berrington  whispered.  "  Don't  try  to 
talk  yet.  You  are  surprised  to  see  me  here,  Mary. 
And  yet  it  is  natural  enough  —  you  must  know  that  I 
have  been  seeking  you  for  years.  Why  have  you  care- 
fully avoided  me  all  this  time  ?  " 

A  little  colour  crept  into  the  cheeks  of  the  grey  lady. 
Field  had  drawn  into  the  background  with  a  feeling  that 
he  was  not  wanted  here.  Yet  he  was  not  pleased  at  the 
unexpected  contretemps.  The  detective  had  mappd  out 
a  line  for  himself,  and  he  desired  now  to  bring  it  to  a 
successful  conclusion.  And  yet  the  interruption  might 
not  altogether  be  without  its  good  results.  Field  had, 
of  course,  already  heard  a  great  deal  about  the  grey 
lady,  and  he  did  not  doubt  that  the  pathetic  figure 
standing  there  in  the  doorway  was  the  same  person. 

"  You  will  not  forget  to  be  cautious,"  he  whispered. 

The  grey  lady  started.  She  had  not  anticipated  that 
anybody  else  was  there. 

9  129 


130  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Who  is  that  ?  "  she  asked.  "  And  how  did  you 
get  here  ? " 

"  Well,  we  got  into  the  house  by  the  pantry  window," 
Berrington  explained.  He  had  himself  well  in  hand 
again  by  this  time.  u  I  am  afraid  that  we  must  have 
some  kind  of  an  understanding,  Mary.  Would  yon 
mind,  Inspector  ?  " 

Field  was  understood  to  say  that  he  had  no  objection 
so  long  as  it  did  not  lead  to  anything  rash.  He  began 
to  wish  that  he  had  half  a  dozen  or  so  of  his  most 
trusted  men  with  him.  Meanwhile  his  hands  were  tied 
and  he  could  do  no  more  than  wait  developments.  He 
had  naturally  a  keen  desire  to  know  what  was  going  on 
behind  the  closed  door  of  the  dining-room,  but  on  that 
score  he  would  have  to  possess  his  soul  in  patience  for 
the  time.  He  had  the  comfortable  assurance  that  he 
could  bag  his  birds,  one  by  one,  later  on. 

"  Don't  go  out  of  earshot  and  don't  betray  yourself, 
sir,"  he  said.  Berrington  gave  the  desired  assurances 
and  he  and  his  companion  passed  quietly  across  the  hall 
to  a  morning  room  beyond.  This  was  at  the  back  of 
the  house,  with  a  French  window  that  gave  on  to  the 
lawn.     The  grey  lady  softly  undid  the  catch. 

"  That  will  be  an  easy  way  out  for  you,  if  necessary," 
she  said.  "  If  anybody  comes  in  here  you  can  slip  out 
into  the  garden.  And  now,  Philip,  how  did  you  find 
me?" 

Berrington  made  no  reply  for  the  moment.  He  was 
looking  at  the  pale  features  of  his  companion  with  some- 
think  like  a  lovelight  in  his  eyes.  Looked  at  closely  it 
was  a  beautiful  face,  despite  its  sorrow  and  the  grey 
hair  that  crowned  it.  Berrington  recollected  the  grey 
lady  as  a  merry  laughing  girl,  who  seemed  not  to  have 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  131 

a  single  care  in  the  world.     His  mind  was  very  far 
away  from  Audley  Place  at  that  moment. 

"  How  long  since  we  last  met,  Mary !  "  he  said. 

The  woman  sighed  and  her  eyes  filled  with  tears. 
Berrington  had  struck  a  tender  cord. 

"  Four  months,  four  years,  four  centuries !  "  she  said 
with  a  passionate  catch  of  her  voice.  "  You  are  not 
angry  with  me,  Phil  ?  I  can  see  you  are  not  angry  with 
me." 

"  My  dearest,  no.  When  I  look  at  you  I  can  feel  no 
anger  in  my  heart  against  you.  My  God,  what  you 
must  have  suffered !  The  same  and  yet  so  different. 
All  your  colour  has  gone,  the  laughter  from  your  eyes, 
the  tender  lines  of  your  mouth.  And  yet  at  the  outside 
your  years  cannot  be  more  than  thirty." 

"  Thirty-one,"  the  other  said  mournfully.  "  And  yet 
I  seem  to  have  lived  such  a  long,  long  life.  You  think 
that  I  treated  you  very  badly,  Phil  ?  " 

"  My  dear  Mary,  how  could  I  come  to  any  other, 
conclusion  ?  You  were  engaged  to  me,  we  were  going 
to  be  married,  the  very  hour  was  fixed.  Then  you 
disappeared  utterly,  leaving  nothing  more  than  a  note 
to  say  that  I  was  to  forget  you  and  not  seek  you.  I 
was  to  think  of  you  as  being  utterly  unworthy  to  become 
a  good  man's  wife." 

"  If  you  had  done  so  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and 
anxiety  would  have  been  saved,  Phil." 

"  Yes,  but  I  declined  to  do  anything  of  the  kind," 
Berrington  said  eagerly.  "  I  knew  that  in  some  way 
you  were  sacrificing  yourself  for  others.  And  when  I 
found  that  your  brother  had  gone,  I  felt  absolutely 
certain  of  it." 


132  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Did  you  discover  anything  about  him  ? "  the  grey 
Jady  asked  anxiously. 

"  Dear  Mary,  there  was  nothing  fresh  to  discover. 
Your  love  for  Carl  made  you  blind  to  his  faults.  Did 
"we  not  all  know  what  he  was!  Every  man  in  India 
who  knew  him  could  have  told  you.  It  is  a  painful 
thing  to  say,  but  he  was  an  utter  blackguard.  But  for 
influence,  he  had  been  expelled  the  Civil  Service 
long  before  he  chose  to  vanish.  It  used  to  madden  me 
to  see  the  way  in  which  he  traded  upon  your  affection 
for  him.     Oh,  he  was  a  bad  man." 

The  red  blood  flamed  into  the  cheeks  of  the  listener. 
Berrington  could  see  her  hands  clasped  together. 

"  You  are  wrong,"  she  said,  M  oh,  I  am  sure  you  are 
wrong.  Carl  was  a  little  selfish,  perhaps,  but  then  he 
was  so  brilliantly  clever,  so  much  sought  after.  And 
when  he  fell  in  love  with  —  with  the  right  woman,  I 
was  entirely  happy.  He  was  passionately  in  love, 
Phillip." 

Berrington  gave  a  dissenting  gesture.  There  was  a 
bitter  smile  on  his  lips. 

"  Carl  never  cared  for  anyone  but  himself,"  he  said. 
"  It  was  a  physical  impossibility." 

"  Indeed  you  do  him  wrong,  Phil.  He  was  very 
much  in  earnest  with  Sir  Charles  Darryll's  ward  who 
came  out  with  her  brother  and  his  wife  to  Simla.  All 
was  going  brilliantly  when  a  rival  came  on  the  scene. 
You  were  not  in  Simla  at  the  time,  and  I  daresay  if  you 
had  been  you  would  never  have  heard  anything  about 
that  unhappy  business.  Whether  the  rival  used  his 
power  unscrupulously  or  not  I  never  knew,  but  there 
was  a  quarrel  one  day,  out  riding.  Even  Carl  refused 
to  speak  of  it.     But  his  rival  was  never  seen  again,  and 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  133 

from  that  day  to  this  Carl  has  been  a  physical  wreck. 
He " 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say,"  Berrington  burst  out, 
"  you  don't  mean  to  say  your  brother  is  the  Carl  Sar- 
toris  who  is  master  of  this  house  ? " 

The  woman  hesitated,  stammered,  her  face  had  grown 
very  pale. 

"  You  seem  to  know  more  than  I  imagined,"  she 
said.  "  Perhaps  I  shall  understand  better  when  I  know 
what  brings  you  here.  But  Carl  Sartoris  is  my 
brother." 

"  So  he  has  gone  back  to  his  mother's  maiden  name ! 
Does  an  honest  man  want  to  do  anything  of  that  kind  9 
But  for  the  expression  of  your  face,  which  is  sweet  and 
fair  as  ever,  I  should  say  that  you  were  in  this  busi- 
ness. But  I  have  only  to  glance  at  you  to  feel  assured 
on  that  point.  You  say  that  your  brother  is  more 
sinned  against  than  sinning.  Can  you  look  me  in  the 
face  and  say  that  he  has  no  past  behind  him,  that  he  is 
not  making  a  mystery  now  ?  " 

The  girl's  face  grew  pale  and  she  cast  down  her  eyes. 
Berrington  kept  down  his  rising  passion. 

"  You  cannot  answer  me,"  he  went  on.  "  You  find 
it  impossible  to  do  so.  You  are  running  great  risks  for 
a  worthless  creature  who  is  as  crooked  in  mind  as  he  is 
in  body." 

"  Oh,  don't,"  Mary  Sartoris  said.  "  Don  't  say  such 
terrible  things,  please ;  they  hurt  me." 

"  My  dear  girl,  I  am  sorry,  but  it  is  best  to  state 
these  things  plainly.  You  may  not  know  everything, 
but  you  can  guess  a  great  deal.  Otherwise,  why  did 
you  try  and  see  Sir  Charles  Darryll  the  night  before 
his  death,  why  did  you  write  him  the  note  that  was 


134  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

found  in  his  bedroom  ?  And  again,  why  did  you  stay 
in  the  hotel  that  night  and  try  to  warn  the  servants  on 
night  duty?  You  see,  Mary,  it  is  quite  useless  to  try 
to  keep  the  secret  from  me." 

Mary  Sartoris  looked  at  the  speaker  with  dilated 
eyes.  For  a  moment  she  could  not  speak.  And  yet 
there  were  no  signs  of  guilty  terror  on  her  face. 

"  I  did  not  imagine  that  you  knew  so  much,"  she 
said. 

"  I  know  more,  but  I  would  far  rather  know  a  great 
deal  more,"  Berrington  admitted.  "  Mind  you,  matters 
are  out  of  my  hands  and  the  police  are  hot  on  the  track. 
Why  do  you  not  confess  everything  and  save  yourself, 
Mary  ?  For  instance,  you  stand  a  chance  of  being 
placed  in  the  dock  on  a  charge  of  being  concerned  in  the 
disappearance  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll's  body." 

"  I  am  as  innocent  of  that  as  the  grave,  Phil.  I  only 
did  my  best  to  try  to  prevent " 

"  Oh,  I  know,  I  know,"  Berrington  said  impatiently. 
"  But  the  fact  remains  that  the  body  of  Sir  Charles 
Darryll  was  stolen  for  some  vile  purpose,  and  that  the 
culprits  are  in  grave  danger.  Your  brother  is  at  the 
bottom  of  this  affair;  he  it  was  who  drove  up  to  the 
Royal  Palace  Hotel  in  that  black  hansom  that  took 
the  body  away.     And  yet  you  say  that  that  man ' 

"  Is  more  sinned  against  than  sinning,"  Mary  Sar- 
toris cried.  "  I  say  it  still.  Of  course  you  regard  me 
as  blind  and  foolish,  but  then  you  do  not  know  every- 
thing." 

"  It  is  not  a  matter  of  what  I  know,"  Berrington 
protested.  "  Of  course  I  should  believe  every  word 
that  you  tell  me.     But  the  police  will  take  another  view 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  135 

of  the  matter  altogether.  Do  you  know  what  is  going 
on  behind  that  closed  door  yonder  ? " 

The  girl  shuddered  and  hid  her  face  in  her  hands. 
She  seemed  afraid  to  say  anything.  Berrington  asked 
the  question  twice  before  he  could  get  any  reply. 

"  Indeed  I  don't,"  she  said.  "  I  am  not  altogether 
in  my  brother's  confidence.  I  ventured  to  say  some- 
thing to  him  to-day  and  he  was  dreadfully  angry.  He 
locked  me  in  my  bedroom,  but  I  managed  to  get  the 
door  of  the  dressing-room  open  and  escaped  that  way. 
I  was  going  to  interfere  when  I  saw  you.  There  seem 
to  be  other  people  there." 

"  Oh,  there  are,"  Berrington  said  bitterly.  "  There 
are  two  adventurers,  called  Reggie  and  Cora,  who  very 
recently  passed  at  the  Royal  Palace  Hotel  for  General 
Gastang  and  Countess  de  la  Moray.  There  is  the 
scoundrel  Stephen  Richford  who  tricked  Beatrice 
Darryll  into  marrying  him,  and  then  there  is  also  a 
ruffian  called  Dr.  James  Bentwood.     What  was  that  ?  " 

"  It  seemed  to  me  like  a  cry  of  pain,"  Mary  Sartoris 
said  in  a  frozen  whisper. 

It  was  very  like  a  cry  of  pain  indeed,  a  fluttering, 
feeble  cry  ending  in  a  moaning  protest.  Acting  on  the 
impulse  of  the  moment,  and  forgetting  Inspector  Field 
altogether,  Berrington  crossed  the  hall  and  laid  his  hand 
on  the  knob  of  the  door.  Mary  Sartoris  darted  after 
him,  her  face  white  with  fear,  and  terror  and  anxiety 
in  her  accent. 

"  Don't  do  it,"  she  said,  "  pray  restrain  yourself. 
There  are  mysteries  here,  strange,  horrible  mysteries 
that  come  from  the  East,  of  which  you  know  nothing, 
despite  the  years  you  have  passed  in  India.  Oh,  the 
danger  that  lies  there !  " 


136  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

In  spite  of  his  courage,  Berrington  hesitated.  He 
might  have  recovered  his  self-possession  and  returned  to 
the  drawing-room,  only  the  strange  feeble  cry  of  pain 
was  raised  again.  It  was  more  than  flesh  and  blood 
could  stand,  and  in  a  sudden  passion  Berrington  opened 
the  door.  He  would  have  entered  resolutely,  but  Mary 
pulled  him  back. 

"  The  mischief  has  been  done,"  she  said  hurriedly. 
"  If  anyone  has  to  suffer  let  it  be  me.  I  have  brought 
you  to  this  pass  and  I  must  get  you  out  as  best  I  can. 
Carl,  what  is  this  ?  " 

The  girl  thrust  herself  past  Berrington  who  stood  in 
the  shade  of  the  doorway.  There  was  a  sudden  snarl- 
ing, with  a  cry  from  the  girl,  as  a  blow  tingled  on  her 
cheek.  Somebody  laughed  as  if  approving  this  coward- 
ly business. 

With  a  cry  of  rage  Berrington  darted  into  the  room. 
Instantly  a  pair  of  strong  hands  were  laid  on  him  and 
he  was  borne  backwards.  Just  for  a  moment  he  lashed 
out  freely  and  successfully  and  then  the  weight  of  num- 
bers was  too  much  for  him.  The  dining-room  door  was 
closed  again. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

INSPECTOR  FIELD  swore  a  good  round  oath 
under  his  breath.  He  had  not  looked  for  an  in- 
sane folly  like  this  from  a  well-trained  officer  who 
might  have  been  expected  to  keep  his  feelings  in  check. 
But,  as  Field  sadly  reflected,  it  was  useless  to  anticipate 
anything  rational  when  a  woman  came  into  the  case. 

Everything  had  been  going  beautifully  and  smoothly 
a  few  minutes  ago,  and  now  the  plot  was  ruined. 
Field  was  anything  but  a  timid  man,  he  had  been  in  too 
many  tight  places  in  his  life  to  know  the  meaning  of 
the  word  timidity,  but  then  he  had  to  exercise  a  certain 
discretion. 

At  the  same  time  he  was  not  blind  to  the  fact  that 
his  military  ally  was  in  considerable  danger.  The  only 
thing  now  would  be  to  bluff  the  whole  thing  through, 
to  pretend  that  the  game  was  up  and  that  the  house  was 
surrounded  with  police. 

With  this  intention  in  his  mind,  Field  crossed  the 
hall  and  tried  the  dining-room  door.  He  was  not  alto- 
gether surprised  to  find  the  door  locked.  He  listened 
at  the  keyhole,  but  he  could  not  hear  anything  what- 
ever. Furthermore,  the  application  of  an  eye  to  the 
keyhole  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  room  was  in  dark- 
ness. Despite  his  courage  a  thrill  ran  down  the  spine 
of  the  inspector.  There  was  some  more  than  usually 
devilish  work  going  on  here. 

"  Well,  it  can't  be  helped,"  Field  muttered.  "  It 's 
137 


138  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

the  fortune  of  war.  One  of  us  has  come  to  grief,  and 
if  I  stay  here  I  may  share  the  same  fate,  and  I  the  only 
one  left  who  knows  anything  of  the  secrets  of  the  prison 
house.  I  '11  run  over  and  get  assistance  and  we  '11 
search  the  house.  After  all,  my  friend  the  Colonel  has 
only  himself  to  blame." 

Without  waiting  for  anything  further,  Field  slipped 
out  by  the  way  he  had  come.  Once  in  the  road,  he 
glanced  back  at  the  house,  but  the  whole  place  seemed 
to  be  in  pitchy  darkness.  There  was  nothing  for  it 
now  but  to  make  his  way  to  the  nearest  police  station, 
and  get  all  the  assistance  possible.  There  was  no 
trouble  at  the  station  across  the  Common,  the  mere 
mention  of  Field's  name  being  sufficient.  A  few  min- 
utes later  half  a  dozen  constables  in  silent  shoes  were 
on  their  way  to  the  scene  of  action.  There  was  to  be 
no  fuss  and  bother;  they  decided  to  enter  quietly  and 
unostentatiously  by  the  larder  window,  which  was  done 
without  any  noise  whatever. 

Once  the  exits  were  guarded,  there  was  no  necessity 
for  further  concealment.  But  though  the  lights  were 
turned  up  all  over  the  house  and  the  most  careful  search 
made,  not  a  sign  of  human  life  could  be  seen.  Every- 
body had  vanished,  as  if  the  whole  thing  had  been  a 
dream.  Field,  standing  in  the  hall  and  biting  his  nails, 
was  fain  to  admit  that  he  was  beaten. 

How  on  earth  had  those  people  managed  to  efface 
themselves  in  that  amazing  manner  ?  They  had  all  ap- 
parently vanished  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  And  there 
was  that  bulky  package  too,  that  Field  believed  con- 
tained the  body  of  Sir  Charles.  It  was  long  past  mid- 
night before  Field  left  the  house,  having  taken  precau- 
tions not  to  disturb  anything,  but  even  those  precautions 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  139 

might  have  been  in  vain.  For  all  he  knew  to  the  con- 
trary, the  place  might  be  watched  by  its  late  occupants 
who  were  laughing  in  their  sleeves. 

"  No  use  staying  here  any  longer,  Macklin,"  he  said 
disgustedly.  "  I  shall  have  to  go  back  on  my  tracks 
once  more.  Never  do  I  take  an  amateur  into  my  busi- 
ness plans  again.  But  it  looks  as  if  he  had  paid  for  his 
indiscretion.     Good  night." 

It  was  late  into  the  following  afternoon  before  Field 
saw  Beatrice  Darryll  again.  When  he  did  so,  he  had 
nothing  to  report  save  failure.  Beatrice  listened  with 
the  greatest  interest  to  what  had  taken  place  the  night 
before,  but  her  interest  gave  place  to  grave  anxiety  when 
she  heard  what  had  been  the  result  of  Colonel  Berring- 
ton's  daring  action. 

"  Do  you  suppose  that  he  is  in  real  danger  ?  "  Beatrice 
asked. 

"  Well,  I  'm  afraid  he  is,"  Field  admitted.  "  You 
see  we  are  dealing  with  the  most  daring  and  clever  and 
unscrupulous  gang  of  scoundrels  that  I  ever  encoun- 
tered. They  would  not  stick  at  murder  or  anything  else 
if  anybody  crossed  them.  Mind  you,  it  was  a  most 
foolish  thing  for  the  Colonel  to  do.  Still,  he  is  a  sol- 
dier and  a  very  resourceful  man  and  he  may  pull 
through.  Again  these  people  may  not  have  designs  on 
his  life;  it  is  just  possible  that  they  might  keep  him  a 
prisoner  until  their  plans  had  been  successfully  carried 
out.  Of  course  when  the  Colonel  was  talking  to  the 
grey  lady  to-night  I  was  not  supposed  to  listen.  But  I 
have  very  good  ears,  and  they  spoke  loudly  at  times.  I 
gathered  that  the  scoundrel  Sartoris  was  once  engaged 
to  a  young  lady  who  threw  him  over.  Now  it  occurred 
to  me  that  the  young  lady  might  give  me  an  idea  or  two, 


140  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

provided  that  she  is  in  England  at  the  present  moment." 

"  Why  should  you  think  that  she  is  not  here  % " 
Beatrice  asked. 

"  Because  the  engagement  took  place  at  Simla.  This 
young  lady  was  staying  with  her  brother  and  his  wife ; 
unfortunately  I  did  not  catch  the  name.  The  curious 
part  of  the  affair  is  that  she  is  a  ward  of  your  late 
father." 

Beatrice  looked  puzzled  for  a  moment.  She  did  not 
quite  understand. 

"  You  mean  that  my  father  was  guardian  under  a 
will  or  something  of  that  kind  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  That 's  it,  miss,"  Field  exclaimed.  "  We  ought  to 
be  able  to  identify  the  young  lady  between  us,  especially 
as  the  affair  only  took  place  three  years  ago  or  so,  as  I 
understand.  If  you  will  pardon  me  for  saying  so,  Sir 
Charles  was  a  very  careless  gentleman,  and  hardly  the 
man  that  a  careful  parent  would  choose  as  a  guardian. 
The  young  lady's  father  must  have  known  yours  very 
intimately  indeed,  or  very  little,  it  does  not  matter 
which.  Still,  I  don't  suppose  that  Sir  Charles  had 
many  of  these  affairs  on  hand.  Now,  see  if  you  can 
recollect  anything  of  the  kind  happening  during  the  last 
three  or  four  years,  Miss  Darryll." 

Beatrice  thought  the  matter  over  carefully  for  a 
moment.     Her  face  lighted  up  presently. 

"  I  fancy  that  I  have  it,"  she  said.  "  Lord  Edward 
Decie,  who  was  a  great  friend  of  my  father,  died  about 
three  years  ago.  The  two  men  did  a  lot  of  speculating 
together,  and  indeed  Lord  Edward  passed  for  a  shrewd 
and  successful  man.  When  he  died  I  know  my  father 
was  executor  under  the  will  and  that  he  had  some  con- 
trol over  the  Hon.  Violet  Decie.     I  never  saw  the  girl, 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  141 

because  she  went  to  India  with  a  married  brother,  and, 
for  all  I  know  she  is  there  still.  I  understood  that 
she  was  rather  an  impulsive  kind  of  girl  who  did  wild 
things  on  the  spur  of  the  moment.  But  you  can  easily 
inquire." 

Field's  face  expressed  a  guarded  satisfaction.  So 
far  he  was  not  very  much  out 

"  That  is  the  young  lady,  miss,"  he  cried.  "  I  '11 
put  the  inquiries  on  foot  at  once.  And  I  don't  think 
that  I  need  detain  you  any  longer." 

"  One  minute,"  Beatrice  said.  "  What  about 
Colonel  Berrington  ?  What  steps  have  you  taken  to 
find  him  ?  Are  you  going  to  have  that  house  at  Wands- 
worth watched  ?  " 

Field  intimated  that  he  was,  though  in  his  opinion  it 
was  time  wasted. 

"  They  will  expect  something  of  the  kind,  you  see," 
he  said.  "  Of  course  it  is  a  help  to  me  that  my  pres- 
ence in  the  house  was  not  suspected.  They  may  con- 
clude that  Berrington  was  alone  in  the  business,  and  on 
the  other  hand  they  may  not  conclude  anything  of  the 
kind.  But,  all  the  same,  I  am  going  to  have  the  house 
carefully  watched." 

Before  the  day  was  out  the  disappearance  of  Sir 
Charles's  body  was  obscured  by  the  strange  absence  of 
Colonel  Berrington.  Field  would  have  kept  this  latter 
fact  concealed  as  far  as  possible,  but  then  Berrington's 
landlady  had  been  his  old  nurse,  and  she  was  not  rational 
in  the  matter  at  all.  The  authorities  had  promised  to  do 
all  they  could,  though  the  press  accused  them  of  being  ex- 
ceedingly lax  in  the  business.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Field 
had  given  his  chiefs  an  inkling  of  the  situation,  so  that 
they  were  really  doing  their  best  all  the  time.     A  care- 


142  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

fully  planned  watch  on  the  Wandsworth  Common  house 
had  come  to  nothing,  but  the  people  there  had  not  yet 
returned;  indeed  very  little  could  have  been  done  if 
they  had. 

And  Field  was  turning  in  another  direction.  He 
had  to  trace  the  young  lady  who  at  one  time  had  been 
engaged  to  Carl  Sartoris,  and  he  had  found  it  a  more 
difficult  business  than  he  had  anticipated.  It  was  a 
delicate  business,  too,  calling  for  tactful  manipulation. 
A  somewhat  talkative  aunt,  of  the  young  lady  was  found 
at  length.  She  took  Field  for  a  lawyer  who  was  seek- 
ing the  Honorable  Violet  for  her  own  advantage. 

"  Oh,  yes.  She  has  been  back  from  India  a  long 
time,"  Lady  Parkstone  said.  "  Violet  is  a  very  strange 
and  clever  girl.  Yes,  she  has  been  engaged  more  than 
once.  But  the  engagements  are  always  broken  off. 
Violet  was  always  in  love  with  herself.  But  very 
clever,  as  I  said  before.  At  one  time  she  bade  fair  to 
become  quite  a  famous  artist,  and  she  has  had  stories 
in  the  magazines.  Her  last  fad  was  the  stage  and  that 
has  lasted  quite  a  long  time.  In  fact  she  is  on  the 
stage  now." 

"  In  London,  my  lady  ?  "  Field  asked.  "  She  is  not 
acting  under  her  own  name,  of  course  ?  " 

"  No,"  Lady  Parkstone  explained.  "  She  is  Miss 
Adela  Vane;  at  present  she  is  playing  at  the  Comedy 
Opera  House.  It  is  just  possible  that  you  know  the 
name." 

Field  knew  the  name  very  well.  He  departed  pres- 
ently well  satisfied  with  the  progress  that  he  had  made. 
It  was  getting  quite  late  by  the  time  he  had  found  out 
where  Miss  Vane  lodged,  but  he  had  time  to  go  back  to 
Scotland  Yard  again.     There,  a  note  from  the  superin- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  143 

tendent  of  the  Wandsworth  Police  was  awaiting  him, 
asking  him  to  go  down  as  soon  as  possible.  The  note 
was  vague  but  it  suggested  possibilities. 

The  Wandsworth  authorities  had  not  much  to  say,  but 
they  had  one  detail.  Last  night  one  of  the  men  who 
was  told  to  watch  No.  100  had  seen  something.  The 
windows  were  all  shuttered  from  top  to  bottom,  each 
shutter  having  a  little  ventilator  in  it.  Field  nodded, 
for  he  had  noticed  this  himself. 

"  Very  well,  then,"  the  superintendent  went  on. 
"  So  far  as  we  know  the  house  is  empty.  But  is  it  ? 
If  so  why  should  a  light  have  been  seen  last  night,  be- 
hind the  little  round  ventilator?  The  light  came  and 
went,  and  in  a  great  flashing,  dazzling  kind  of  way  for 
half  an  hour,  and  then  stopped.  It  was  as  if  a  child 
was  playing  with  the  switch  of  the  electric  light." 

Field  nodded  and  smiled.  He  looked  exceedingly 
pleased  with  himself. 

"  Guess  I  understand,"  he  said.  "  Especially  as  we 
are  seeking  for  a  military  gentleman.  We  '11  go  as  far 
as  Audley  Place  at  once,  and  investigate.  Only  we 
shall  have  to  call  at  the  Post  Office  and  borrow  a  clerk 
out  of  the  telegraph  department.     Come  along." 

Field  volunteered  no  explanation,  and  his  puzzled 
colleague  followed  him  out  of  the  office.  The  telegraph 
operator  and  the  others  stood  opposite  the  house  in 
Audley  Place  till  the  patience  of  all  was  pretty  well 
exhausted.  Then  suddenly  the  light  began  to  flicker  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  house. 

"  Isn't  that  a  message  of  some  kind  ? "  Field  asked 
of  the  telegraph  clerk. 

"  Right,"  the  other  said  promptly.  "  That 's  a  kind 
of  telegraph  dash  and  dot  system.     Whistle  a  bar  from 


144  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 


'  when  we  are  married.'  Thank  you,  sir.  That 's 
what  the  gentleman  who  is  sending  out  those  flash 
signals  is  asking  somebody  to  do  who  happens  to  under- 
stand. That  last  lot  of  flashes  means  '  Thank  the 
Lord ! '  Now  he  's  getting  to  business.  He  wants  to 
know  who  we  are  before  he  goes  on." 

"  Can't  you  give  it  back  again  in  any  way !  "  Eield 
asked.     "  Say  it 's  me." 

Very  loudly  the  telegraphic  operator  tapped  the 
pavement  with  his  stick.  It  sounded  quite  meaning- 
less, but  the  light  in  the  house  flared  up  and  down  in  a 
triumphant  kind  of  way.  The  flickering  began  once 
more  and  then  stopped. 

"  It 's  Colonel  Berrington,"  the  clerk  said  presently. 
"  He  says  you  are  not  to  bother  about  him  in  the  least, 
as  he  is  quite  safe,  and  so  long  as  he  is  in  there  the 
men  are  not  likely  to  do  anything  rash.  And  here 
comes  the  gist  of  the  message.  You  are  to  go  to  Ed- 
ward Street  in  the  Borough  and  keep  an  eye  on  one  of 
the  houses  there, —  the  Colonel  doesn't  know  which. 
And  you  are  to  go  at  once,  he  says." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

SOMETHING  had  been  accomplished,  at  any  rate. 
It  was  good  to  know  that  Berrington  was  safe  and 
as  satisfied  with  his  surroundings  as  it  was  possible  to 
be  under  the  circumstances.  Though  he  was  a  prisoner, 
he  seemed  to  have  been  able  to  obtain  important  in- 
formation which  he  had  managed  to  convey  to  the  out- 
side world  without  alarming  his  captors. 

"  It 's  not  so  bad  altogether,"  Field  said.  "  Though 
I  am  by  no  means  pleased  with  the  gallant  Colonel, 
who  has  only  himself  to  blame  for  the  position  in  which 
he  finds  himself.  You  can  all  go  back  to  the  station, 
and  I  shall  not  want  the  telegraph  gentleman,  whose 
services  have  been  so  valuable.  Of  course,  you  will  say 
nothing  of  what  you  have  seen,  sir." 

The  little  telegraph  clerk  gave  the  desired  assurance 
and  went  his  way.  But  Field  did  not  turn  his  steps  in 
the  direction  of  London  all  at  once.  For  a  long  time 
he  stood  looking  thoughtfully  at  the  house  in  Audley 
Place.  He  was  just  about  to  turn  away  finally  when 
the  light  began  to  flash  and  flicker  again.  It  went  on  a 
little  time  and  finally  ceased. 

"  Wow,  has  he  forgotten  something  ?  "  Field  asked 
himself.     "  I  wonder  if  it  is  possible " 

Field   crept   quietly  towards  the  house,   across  the 
lawn,  and  made  his  way  to  the  back  by  which  he  had 
entered  the  place  on  a  previous  occasion.     As  he  ex- 
pected, the  glass  removed  by  him  had  not  been  replaced, 
1(>  145 


146  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

so  that  he  was  free  to  enter  if  he  pleased.  It  was  a 
very  risky  proceeding  under  the  circumstances,  but 
Field  decided  to  try  it.  He  would  be  much  better 
satisfied  to  gain  speech  with  Berrington,  though  the 
latter's  escape  might  have  alarmed  the  criminals  and 
sent  them  to  cover  again. 

Field  was  inside  the  house  again  before  he  had  made 
up  his  mind  what  to  do.  The  place  was  very  quiet,  and 
it  was  evident  that  the  servants  had  not  returned. 
Perhaps  there  was  nobody  there  besides  Berrington, 
who  was  a  prisoner  in  one  of  the  upper  rooms.  That 
being  the  case  it  was  by  no  means  impossible  to  gain 
speech  with  him.  Very  carefully  Field  crept  along  the 
passages,  listening  with  all  his  ears. 

He  had  not  gone  far  before  he  heard  a  sound  as  of 
somebody  moving.  That  somebody  was  coming  in  his 
direction  was  certain.  Field  began  to  blame  himself 
for  his  folly.  If  he  fell  into  a  trap  now,  everything 
would  be  ruined.  He  turned  down  a  side  passage, 
without  the  remotest  idea  where  he  was  going,  and  came 
at  length  to  a  lighted  room,  at  the  end  of  which  was  a 
conservatory  full  of  flowers.  The  conservatory  was 
open  to  the  room,  so  that  the  whole  place  was  a  veri- 
table bower  of  blooms.  On  one  side  was  a  large  bank  of 
azaleas,  behind  which  Field  proceeded  to  hide  himself. 
He  had  hardly  done  this  when  there  was  a  kind  of 
creaking  sound,  the  door  was  pushed  open,  and  Carl 
Sartoris  entered  in  his  chair.  With  great  difficulty  the 
cripple  proceeded  to  crawl  into  a  big  arm-chair,  after 
which  he  took  from  his  pocket  a  wig  and  a  pair  of 
spectacles.  He  seemed  to  be  expecting  somebody.  He 
gave  a  little  cough,  and  immediately  somebody  in  the 
hall  began  to  talk. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  147 

"  Mr.  Sartoris  is  in  the  conservatory  room,  miss,"  a 
voice  said,  and  Field  had  no  difficulty  in  recognising 
the  voice  of  the  doctor,  Bentwood.  "  Will  you  come 
this  way,  please  ?  " 

Field  congratulated  himself  upon  the  line  that  he  had 
taken.  From  behind  the  bank  of  flowers  he  could  see 
pretty  well  himself,  without  being  discovered.  A 
pretty  girl,  with  wonderfully  beautiful  fair  hair  and 
dark  vivacious  eyes,  came  into  the  room.  She  was  not 
in  the  least  timid;  there  was  an  air  of  eager  expecta- 
tion about  her. 

"  This  is  very  good  of  you,"  she  said.  "  I  undertand 
that  you  sent  for  me.  If  you  are  not  in  a  proper  state 
of  health  to  talk  to  me  I  can  call  again,  Mr.  Sartoris." 

Just  for  the  moment  Sartoris  made  no  reply.  It 
seemed  to  Field  that  he  was  not  altogether  free  from 
physical  pain.  He  shaded  his  spectacled  eyes  with  a 
trembling  hand,  as  if  the  light  proved  a  little  too  strong 
for  him. 

"  It  is  not  in  the  least  inconvenient,"  he  said.  "  I 
sent  for  you  at  this  somewhat  late  hour  because  I  may 
have  to  leave  England  to-morrow.  If  I  do  so  it  will 
be  for  some  considerable  time." 

In  his  mind,  Field  differed.  He  had  other  views  for 
the  speaker.  He  was  puzzled,  too,  at  all  these  quick 
changes,  and  because  there  were  so  many  threads  in  the 
plot: 

"  I  can  give  you  an  hour,"  the  girl  said.  "  I  must 
be  in  London  by  ten  o'clock." 

"  Very  well,  I  dare  say  we  can  manage  it  by  that 
time.  As  I  told  you  in  my  letter,  I  am  a  very  old 
friend  of  your  father.     We  were  in  one  or  two  ventures 


148  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

together,  and  some  of  them  turned  out  to  be  very  suc- 
cessful indeed.     Did  he  ever  mention  my  name  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  call  it  to  mind,"  the  girl  said.  "  And  yet 
it  is  not  a  common  name." 

"  It  is  not  in  the  least  common,"  Sartoris  smiled. 
"  Perhaps  your  father  did  not  speak  of  me  because  we 
were  not  quite  friends  towards  the  last.  At  one  time 
I  was  to  be  your  guardian  if  anything  happened  to  your 
father.  But  we  need  not  go  into  that,  because  it  is  not 
material  to* the  case  at  all."  The  girl  nodded  brightly, 
and  her  eyes  expressed  admiration  of  the  beauty  of  the 
surroundings. 

"  I  believe  my  guardian  was  Sir  Charles  Darryll," 
she  said. 

"  So  I  understand,"  Sartoris  proceeded  in  the  same 
grave  way.  "  It  was  a  most  extraordinary  selection 
for  a  man  with  a  keen  business  head  like  your  father." 

"  But  you  are  greatly  mistaken,"  the  girl  exclaimed. 
"  My  father  was  a  perfect  child  in  business  matters. 
Even  I  was  capable  of  advising  him  for  his  good.  I 
should  say  that  there  never  lived  a  man  who  was  so 
easily  befooled  as  my  father." 

"Is  that  so?"  Sartoris  blurted  out,  "I'm  — I 
mean,  of  course,  yes,  as  to  mere  money,  but  he  was 
clever  enough  in  some  ways.  Still,  the  fact  remains 
that  he  made  Sir  Charles  Darryll  your  guardian.  Did 
you  ever  trouble  him  at  all  ?  " 

"  I  never  so  much  as  saw  him,  at  least  in  a  business 
sense." 

"  Ah,"  Sartoris  cried.  There  was  a  deep  ring  in  his 
voice.  "  Is  that  really  a  fact  ?  You  don't  know  then 
that  certain  papers  and  documents  belonging  to  your 


THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE  149 

father  passed  to  Sir  Charles?  Your  father  told  you 
nothing  of  this  ?  " 

"  Not  a  word,  except  in  a  joking  way.  He  spoke  of 
securities  and  mortgages  and  the  like  that  were  to  be  my 
fortune  when  he  died.  He  told  me  to  ask  Sir  Charles 
about  them." 

"  Did  you  take  the  trouble  to  do  so  ? " 

The  girl  thought  a  moment  before  she  replied. 

"  Once,"  she  said.  "  Once  I  did  say  something  to 
Sir  Charles.  He  told  me  that  every  paper  in  his  pos- 
session had  been  deposited  with  his  lawyers." 

Once  more  Sartoris  shaded  his  eyes  with  his  hand. 
Field  could  see  his  fingers  shaking.  In  a  hard  voice 
Sartoris  asked  if  the  girl  meant  the  family  solicitor. 

"  No,  I  don't,"  she  said  without  the  slightest  hesita- 
tion. "  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  family  solicitor  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  Sir  Charles  —  he  found  him 
too  expensive.  It  was  some  little  man  in  one  of  the 
Inns,  Gray's  Inn  or  Clement's  Inn,  who  kept  his  cred- 
itors at  bay.  But  more  than  that  I  am  afraid  I  cannot 
tell  you." 

Sartoris  muttered  something  that  might  have  been 
the  strangling  of  an  oath.  Eield  began  to  understand. 
Papers,  and  probably  valuable  papers,  belonging  to  Sir 
Charles  were  necessary ;  and  the  gang  of  thieves  was  at 
a  loss  what  to  do  without  them. 

"  I  dare  say  I  can  find  out,"  Sartoris  said.  "  If  I 
do,  I  fancy  you  will  benefit  considerably.  More  than 
that  I  dare  not  venture  for  the  present,  my  dear  young 
lady,  because  so  frequently  these  things  turn  out  very 
differently.  If  you  could  think  of  the  name  of  that 
solicitor " 

"  Perhaps  I  might,"  the  girl  said.     "  I  have  a  good 


150  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

memory,  especially  for  trifles.  If  I  do  recollect  the 
name  I  will  write  you  here.  Do  you  know  you  remind 
me  of  a  man  I  knew  in  India.  He  was  much  younger 
than  you,  of  course,  and  different  in  many  ways.  And 
yet  every  time  I  look  at  you  and  hear  your  voice  I  think 
of  him." 

"  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  never  was  in  India  at  all," 
Sartoris  said  hastily.  There  was  a  nasty  ring  in  his 
voice  that  caused  the  girl  to  look  up,  whereon  Sartoris 
laughed,  seeing  that  he  had  made  a  mistake.  "  Excuse 
me,  but  this  neuralgia  of  mine  is  very  troublesome  to- 
night.    And  I  am  afraid  that  I  am  detaining  you." 

The  girl  muttered  something  soothing  and  sympa- 
thetic; at  the  same  time  she  rose  and  crossed  to  the 
bell.  But  Sartoris  merely  reached  out  a  hand  and 
asked  her  to  help  him  into  his  chair.  He  sank  back 
into  the  wheeled  contrivance  at  length  with  a  sigh  that 
might  have  been  pain. 

"  I  '11  go  as  far  as  the  door  with  you,"  he  said. 
"  No,  I  can  move  myself  along.  And  I  hope  that  you 
will  come  here  again ;  I  '11  let  you  know  when  it  is  quite 
convenient.  Don't  forget  that  I  may  be  the  indirect 
means  of  bringing  you  a  fortune.  I  am  a  very  old 
gentleman,  my  dear;  won't  you  give  me  a  kiss?  Are 
you  very  much  offended  %  " 

The  girl  laughed  and  blushed  as  she  bent  down  and 
touched  Sartoris's  cheek  with  her  lips.  A  moment 
later  they  were  gone,  and  Field  had  emerged  from  his 
hiding-place.  He  had  discovered  all  that  he  required, 
for  the  present,  and  he  decided  not  to  take  any  further 
risks.  The  confused  pieces  of  the  puzzle  were  begin- 
ning to  fit  together  in  his  mind,  but  they  were  by  no 
means  complete  yet.     Without  further  adventure  the 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  151 

inspector  crept  back  to  the  pantry  and  found  himself  at 
length  in  the  road.  He  looked  at  the  upstairs  window 
whence  the  flickering  signals  had  come,  but  it  was  all 
dark  and  still  now,  though  it  was  not  as  yet  late. 

"  So  far,  so  good,"  Field  muttered  to  himself.  "  It 
strikes  me  that  that  young  lady  is  likely  to  be  of  service 
to  me.  I  '11  find  out  who  she  is  and  whence  she  comes. 
And  now  to  go  off  to  the  Comedy  and  see  if  I  can  get  in 
touch  with  the  little  actress  who  must  play  her  part  in 
more  dramas  than  one.  I  wonder  if  I  had  better  see 
her  at  the  theatre  or  follow  her  to  her  rooms.  I  '11  be 
guided  by  circumstances." 

It  was  not  more  than  half-past  ten  when  Field 
reached  the  theatre.  It  was  a  popular  house  for  the 
moment,  where  the  management  was  running  a  kind  of 
triple  bill,  consisting  of  one-act  musical  comedies,  each 
of  which  contained  the  particular  star  artist.  Two  of 
the  shows  were  already  over,  and  the  curtain  was  about 
to  rise  on  the  third,  when  Field  reached  the  stage  door. 
The  inquiry  for  Miss  Adela  Vane  was  met  by  a  surly 
request  to  know  what  was  wanted.  If  the  inquirer 
thought  that  he  was  going  into  the  theatre  he  was  jolly 
well  mistaken. 

"  So  you  just  be  off,  or  I  '11  call  the  police,"  the 
crusty  doorkeeper  said.  "  One  way  or  another,  I  'm 
pestered  out  of  my  life  by  you  chaps.  Oh,  you  can 
leave  a  message  or  a  bouquet  or  something  of  that  kind, 
but  it 's  long  odds  it 's  shoved  into  the  dusthole." 

Field  smiled  as  he  produced  his  card  and  handed  it 
over.  The  effect  of  the  little  square  of  shining  paste- 
board was  marked  and  instantaneous.  The  man  behind 
the  bar  was  at  once  cringing  and  ready  to  do  anything. 

"  I  'm  sure  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,"  he  said,  "  but 


152  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

we  are  pestered  out  of  our  lives  from  morning  till  night. 
I  dare  say  I  can  get  you  a  few  words  with  Miss  Vane, 
who  does  not  come  on  the  stage  till  the  third  piece. 
And  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  I  hope  that  there  is 
nothing  wrong,  for  a  nicer  young  lady  than  Miss 
Vane " 

"  There  is  nothing  wrong  at  all,"  Eield  hastened  to 
say.  "  On  the  whole  I  Ve  changed  my  mind.  Don't 
say  a  word  to  Miss  Vane  about  me,  it  may  alarm  her. 
Give  me  a  programme ;  I  '11  just  slip  into  the  house  and 
see  Miss  Vane  from  the  stalls.     Thank  you." 

Eield  made  his  way  round  to  the  front  of  the  house, 
and  presenting  his  card  at  the  box  office,  desired  to  have 
a  seat  for  half  an  hour  or  so. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  immaculately  dressed  young  man  in  the  office 
turned  Field's  card  over  doubtfully.  He  had 
every  desire  to  oblige,  he  said,  but  really  the  house  was 
packed  to  its  utmost  capacity.  Also  the  well-dressed 
young  man  hoped  that  there  would  be  nothing  to  disturb 
the  harmony  of  the  proceedings. 

"  You  may  make  your  mind  quite  easy  on  that  score," 
said  Field  with  a  reassuring  smile.  "  There  will  be  no 
disturbance  as  far  as  I  am  concerned.  I  want  to 
identify  somebody  whom  I  believe  is  in  the  house,  and 
when  that  is  done  my  work  is  finished.  Never  mind 
about  a  seat  —  let  me  stand  by  the  side  of  the  stalls  so 
that  I  can  pass  for  an  official." 

There  was  no  difficulty  whatever  about  this,  and 
therefore  Field  stepped  into  the  house  as  the  curtain 
was  going  up  on  the  last  of  the  brilliant  trifles  of  the 
evening.  The  house  was  packed  to  its  utmost  capacity 
with  an  audience  that  seemed  decidedly  to  appreciate 
the  bill  of  fare  that  had  been  prepared  for  their  delec- 
tation. 

Field  glanced  round  the  house  with  his  usual  blank 
way  that  nevertheless  took  in  everything.  Most  of  the 
people  in  the  stalls  were  known  by  sight  to  him.  In  an 
upper  box  on  the  prompt  side  he  saw  the  dark  face  and 
eager  eyes  of  the  Rajah  of  Ahbad.  He  seemed  to  be 
looking  for  somebody,  for  his  glasses  were  constantly  in 

153 


154  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

use.  There  was  a  restless  air,  too,  .about  the  Rajah, 
that  showed  that  he  was  not  altogether  at  his  ease. 

"  We  live  and  learn,"  Field  told  himself.  "  I  won- 
der what  yonder  wily  oriental  would  think  if  he  knew 
all  that  I  have  discovered  lately.  I  suppose  one  of  his 
favourite  ballet  girls  is  in  the  piece.  Pretty  piece,  too, 
and  pretty  music." 

Field  laid  himself  out  for  enjoyment  for  the  next 
quarter  of  an  hour.  The  heroine  of  the  piece  in  the 
form  of  Miss  Adela  Vane  was  late  in  appearing.  The 
thing  was  dragging,  too,  or  so  it  seemed  to  Field.  All 
at  once  there  were  voices  at  the  back  of  the  stage  as  if 
somebody  was  quarrelling.  Suddenly  the  bright  tune- 
ful chorus  broke  off  altogether  and  a  female  voice 
screamed.     A  little  puff  of  smoke  came  from  the  stage. 

In  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  the  whole  house  rose  and 
shuddered.  There  was  a  sharp  crack-crackle,  followed 
by  smoke,  and  forked  tongues  of  flame  licked  the  imi- 
tation forest,  and  with  a  swish  all  the  chorus  fled  from 
the  stage.  Far  away  up  in  the  gallery  somebody  was 
roaring  "  Fire !  "  A  rush  to  the  doors  was  already 
taking  place. 

From  the  stalls  rose  a  tall  man  with  a  military  air, 
who  commanded  everybody  to  wait.  There  was  no 
danger,  he  cried,  if  the  audience  only  kept  their  heads. 
On  the  stage  a  manager,  with  a  white  face  and  a  per- 
spiring forehead,  announced  the  fact  that  the  ap- 
pliances for  dealing  with  the  fire  were  of  the  finest  pos- 
sible description,  and  that  there  was  no  danger  at  all. 

But  it  was  all  too  late.  The  panic  had  already 
gripped  the  audience,  and  a  yelling,  frightened  crowd 
pressed  to  the  exits.  The  smoke  was  getting  thicker 
and  blacker;    the  flames  were  making  the  place  un- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  155 

pleasantly  warm.  Field  could  feel  the  heat  on  his 
face.  He  had  been  close  to  the  stalls  exit,  and  might 
have  slipped  away  at  once,  but  he  had  held  his  ground. 
It  was  he  who  stood  with  his  back  to  the  door  now. 

"  I  '11  knock  down  the  first  man  who  tries  to  pass 
me,"  he  cried.  "  There  is  plenty  of  time.  For  God's 
sake,  control  yourselves.  Come  quietly.  Don't  you 
know  that  the  whole  theatre  can  be  emptied  in  three 
minutes  if  people  will  only  go  quietly  ?  Now  come 
along  and  don't  press."  ,  The  stern,  hard  tones  were 
not  without  their  effect.  Field  looked  so  calm  and  col- 
lected and  confident  himself,  that  the  feeling  spread 
quickly  all  over  the  stalls.  The  fireproof  curtain  had 
not  been  dropped  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  would 
not  work,  as  is  often  the  case  with  appliances  of  the 
kind.     The  stage  was  burning  furiously. 

But  in  the  pit  and  dress  circles  and  in  the  higher 
parts  of  the  house  other  cool  and  collected  men  had 
risen  to  the  occasion.  Women  were  crying  and  sobbing, 
and  more  than  one  had  fainted,  but  the  mad  panic  was 
over,  and  something  like  order  had  been  restored.  The 
stalls  were  moving  quietly  along  now,  and  it  was  mar- 
vellous to  see  how  quickly  the  place  was  being  deserted. 
In  the  vestibule  a  long  queue  of  police  had  gathered 
and  stood  to  prevent  people  huddling  together.  In  less 
time  than  it  takes  to  tell,  everybody  was  outside.  Like 
magic  an  engine  had  appeared,  and  men  in  helmets 
were  jumping  nimbly  over  the  stalls  laying  their  hose 
down.  As  Field  turned  to  go  a  little  cry  from  the 
stage  attracted  his  attention. 

A  girl  stood  there,  dressed  as  a  Watteau  shepherdess. 
She  seemed  absolutely  dazed  and  frightened,  a  pretty 
and  pathetic  little  figure  in  her  great  golden  wig. 


156  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Go  back,"  Field  yelled.  "  You  '11  have  that  blaz- 
ing scenery  on  top  of  you.  Why  don't  you  go  back  to 
the  stage  door  ?  " ' 

The  actress  turned  at  last  and  shook  her  head.  Tears 
were  rolling  down  her  face. 

"  I  can't,"  she  said.  "  The  fire  is  too  great.  I  was 
in  my  dressing-room,  and  I  did  not  know.  Oh,  why 
doesn't  somebody  save  me  ?  " 

It  was  quite  clear  that  the  little  girl  was  too  dazed 
and  frightened  to  do  anything.  Without  any  further 
loss  of  time  Field  jumped  into  the  orchestra  and 
scrambled  onto  the  stage.  The  hot  flames  drove  him 
back  for  the  moment;  he  could  see  already  that  the 
wig  of  the  pretty  little  shepherdess  was  being  scorched 
by  the  hot  fiery  breath.  He  lifted  the  girl  in  his  arms 
and  made  a  bold  leap  over  the  orchestra  into  the  stalls. 
Then  he  carried  her  out  into  the  street  and  called  for  a 
cab.  The  air  of  the  night  was  not  without  effect  on  the 
frightened  actress. 

"  Where  shall  I  tell  the  man  to  drive  ?  "  Field  asked. 

"  I  shall  remember  presently,"  the  girl  said.  "  I 
am  altogether  dazed  and  stupid  for  the  moment.  I 
can  see  nothing  but  fire  and  smoke.  Let  me  think. 
Oh,  yes,  it  is  coming  back  to  me.  Yes,  Mrs.  Marsh, 
124,  Copeland  Avenue,  Regent's  Park.  Oh,  it  is  very 
good  and  kind  of  you.  Will  you  let  me  tender  my 
thanks  when  I  am  better  ?  " 

"  I  have  done  nothing,"  Field  said  modestly.  A 
sudden  idea  occurred  to  him,  accustomed  as  he  was  to 
think  matters  out  quickly  and  in  all  kinds  of  startling 
surroundings.  "  If  I  may,  I  will  call  upon  you  to- 
morrow morning.     Good-night." 

The  cab  was  whirled  away,  and  Field  went  thought- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  157 

fully  down  the  Strand.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  had 
seen  the  pretty  little  actress  before,  but  then  such  queer 
sensations  are  frequent  in  times  of  danger  and  excite- 
ment, Field  reflected.  At  the  same  time  he  could  not 
quite  rid  himself  of  the  idea  that  he  had  seen  the  girl 
before.  He  pondered  over  the  matter  until  another 
idea  filled  his  mind. 

"  By  Jove,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  had  quite  forgotten 
the  Colonel's  message.  I  was  to  go  to  Edward  Street 
near  the  Borough  and  wait  to  see  what  I  should  see. 
I'll  just  go  and  hang  about  there  for  half  an  hour  or  so 
on  the  off  chance,  though  I  am  as  tired  as  a  dog  already. 
It  seems  to  me  that  I  can't  do  better  than  take  a  cab." 

A  cab  accordingly  whirled  Inspector  Field  to  the 
upper  end  of  Edward  Street,  which  is  by  no  means  a 
bad  type  of  street  for  the  Borough.  The  houses  r.re  of 
a  respectable  class  for  the  most  part,  the  class  of  houses 
that  let  lodgings  to  medical  students  and  the  like.  It 
is  not  the  sort  of  thoroughfare  that  is  generally  given 
over  to  adventures,  and  Field  loitered  about  there  for  a 
long  time  before  his  search  was  rewarded. 

He  was  chatting  to  a  policeman  on  the  beat,  seeing 
that  he  could  not  loaf  there  without  arousing  the  sus- 
picions of  the  intelligent  officer  on  duty,  without  dis- 
closing his  identity,  when  a  couple  passed  him.  The 
man  wore  a  long  fawn  overcoat  and  a  silk  hat;  he  was 
a  well-dressed  man,  as  Field  could  see  by  his  smartly 
cut  trousers  and  patent  leather  boots.  He  was  not 
alone,  for  he  had  a  lady  with  him,  a  lady  with  a  hand- 
some wrap.  There  was  a  genuine  West  End  air  about 
these  people  that  did  not  tally  at  all  with  Edward 
Street,  as  Field  did  not  fail  to  notice.     People  of  that 


158  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

stamp  generally  had  a  cab  when  there  was  any  outing 
to  be  done  at  that  time  of  night. 

"  Pull  those  people  up  and  ask  them  some  question," 
Field  whispered  to  the  officer.  "  I  want  to  get  a  good 
look  at  their  faces." 

The  matter  was  managed  quite  easily,  though  the 
man  in  the  fawn  coat  was  short  and  inclined  to  be  curt 
in  his  replies.  But  it  sufficed  for  Field,  who  expressed 
no  astonishment  as  he  recognized  the  features  of  the 
man  called  "  Reggie,"  and  the  woman  called  "  Cora," 
whom  he  had  seen  the  night  before  at  No.  100,  Audley 
Place.  In  other  words,  he  was  once  more  hot  upon  the 
scent  of  Countess  de  la  Moray  and  General  Gastang. 

"  Very  good,  indeed,  Watson,"  he  said.  "  That 's  a 
bit  of  luck  I  hardly  expected.  I  '11  just  follow  these 
people  and  make  certain.     Good  night." 

Field  had  not  far  to  go,  seeing  that  the  man  in  the 
fawn  coat  produced  a  latchkey  and  let  liimself  into  a 
house  a  little  farther  down  the  road.  The  house  was 
an  ordinary  looking  one  enough,  with  plain  green 
Venetian  blinds  and  muslin  curtains  below.  In  the 
drawing-room  window  there  was  a  card  to  the  effect  that 
lodgings  were  to  be  let  there.  It  was  pretty  late  still, 
but  a  light  in  the  basement  testified  to  the  fact  that  the 
housekeeper,  or  landlady,  or  whoever  she  was,  had  not 
yet  gone  to  bed. 

"  It 's  late,  but  I  '11  try  it,"  Field  said  to  himself. 
"  So  here  goes." 

The  inspector  walked  up  the  steps  and  rang  the  bell. 
After  a  little  time  a  tall  slatternly  woman  came  to  the 
door  and  looked  sleepily  out.  She  seemed  by  no  means 
pleased  to  be  disturbed,  and  the  way  she  wiped  her 
mouth  with  the  back  of  her  hand  suggested  the  fact 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  159 

that  she  had  been  taking  some  of  a  pleasing  and  not  al- 
together unintoxicating  fluid  with  her  supper. 

"  And  what  may  you  want  at  this  time  of  night  ? " 
she  asked  suspiciously. 

"  Lodgings,"  Field  said  promptly.  "  I  've  just  come 
to  London,  and  I  find  the  hotels  so  expensive.  I  'm 
prepared  to  pay  an  advance  —  a  matter  of  five  and 
twenty  shillings  a  week  or  a  little  more,  as  it's  only  for 
so  short  a  time.     You  see  I  am  at  the  hospital." 

"  Well,  if  you  are  at  the  hospital  you  'd  better  stay 
there,"  the  woman  said  with  a  laugh.  "  We  don't  let 
lodgings  at  this  time  of  night,  and  besides,  I  settled 
with  a  party  to-day.  I  'm  not  going  to  stand  gossiping 
here  all  night.     Be  off  with  you." 

The  door  closed,  but  not  before  Field  had  got  a 
glimpse  of  the  inside.  The  house  was  most  beautifully 
furnished,  as  he  could  see.  There  was  an  atmosphere 
of  hothouse  flowers  and  fruit,  and  the  like ;  a  suggestion 
of  exquisite  cigars.  A  man  in  evening  dress,  with  a 
diamond  flashing  in  his  shirt,  crossed  the  hall;  some- 
body was  laughing  in  a  well-bred  voice.  All  of  this 
Field  did  not  omit  to  note  as  the  door  closed  on  him. 

"  That  card  about  lodgings  is  a  blind,"  he  said. 
"  That  place  must  be  watched.  I  '11  get  to  bed,  for 
I  'm  dead  tired.  In  the  morning  I  '11  go  and  see  my 
actress  friend.  Probably  she  can  tell  me  all  about 
Miss  Adela  Vane." 

It  was  a  little  after  eleven  the  next  day  before  Field 
found  time  to  visit  the  little  actress.  He  had  stupidly 
forgotten  to  ask  her  name,  but  he  seemed  to  be  ex- 
pected. He  waited  for  some  time  in  a  small  prettily 
furnished  room  till  the  lady  of  the  last  night's  adven- 
ture came  down.     She  arrived  presently,  bright  and 


160  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

pretty  and  smiling,  her  hand  outstretched  —  words  of 
gratitude  on  her  lips. 

"  But  I  shall  never  be  able  to  thank  you  properly," 
she  said.  "  The  public  came  very  near  last  night  to 
losing  their  dear,  dear  Adela  Vane." 

"  You  are  Adela  Vane  ?  "  Field  gasped.  "  Keally 
you  are  Adela  Vane  I  " 

For  Adela  Vane  was  the  girl  who  had  been  closeted 
the  night  before  with  Carl  Sartoris ! 


CHAPTER  XXI 

TO  go  back  for  a  space  to  Berrington.  Heedless  of 
his  promise,  he  had  burst  headlong  into  the  din- 
ing-room whence  the  cry  came.  He  had  forgotten 
altogether  about  Field.  The  fact  half  crossed  his  mind 
that  nobody  knew  of  the  presence  of  the  inspector  in 
the  house,  so  that  anyway  the  latter's  personal  safety 
was  not  jeopardized. 

It  had  been  a  foolish  thing  to  do,  as  Berrington 
realised  almost  as  soon  as  his  mind  cleared.  He  had 
been  somewhat  badly  mauled  in  the  preliminaries,  and 
now  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  was  a  prisoner  in  the 
hands  of  these  people.  The  only  consolation  that  was 
left  to  him  was  the  fact  that  Field  would  come  to  his 
rescue  in  good  time. 

But  Berrington  was  by  no  means  done  for  yet.  To 
begin  with,  there  was  not  the  slightest  trace  of  fear  in 
his  heart.  He  had  been  in  too  many  tight  places  before 
to  have  any  emotion  of  that  kind.  He  fell  back  against 
the  wall,  panting  for  breath;  he  looked  around  him 
again  for  some  avenue  of  escape,  but  he  could  see  none. 

It  was  a  curious  scene,  altogether,  the  elegantly  fur- 
nished room,  the  litter  of  glasses  and  china  and  crystal 
in  one  corner,  the  mysterious  outlined  figure  on  the 
table.  The  glare  of  electric  lights  shone  on  the  faces 
of  the  men  there,  on  the  impudent  features  of  the 
woman  who  had  posed  as  the  Countess  de  la  Moray, 
11  161 


162  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

and  on  the  pale,  supplicating  face  of  Mary  Sartoris. 
For  a  little  time  nobody  said  anything. 

It  was  Mary  Sartoris  who  was  the  first  to  speak. 
She  crossed  over  to  her  brother  and  held  out  her  hand 
with  a  gesture  of  passionate  supplication. 

"  It  is  all  a  mistake,"  she  cried.  "  Colonel  Berring- 
ton  is  under  a  misapprehension.  He  imagines  that 
something  wrong  is  taking  place  here;  he  has  acted  on 
the  spur  of  the  moment.  He  did  not  come  to  the  house 
to  see  anybody  but  me." 

Sartoris  grinned  in  evil  fashion.  Just  for  the  mo- 
ment he  looked  half  convinced. 

"  He  comes  in  strange  fashion,"  he  said.  "  All  the 
same,  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  of  the  value  of  Colonel 
Berrington's  friendship  so  far  as  you  are  concerned. 
But  that  is  not  the  point.  Did  you  admit  your  friend 
Colonel  Berrington  to  the  house  ?  " 

For  the  fraction  of  a  second  a  bold  lie  trembled  on 
Mary's  lips.  But  she  could  not  utter  it.  She  looked 
down  in  confusion,  and  her  face  trembled.  Sartoris 
grinned  in  the  same  wicked  fashion.  A  black  rage  was 
rising  in  his  heart. 

"  Good  girl,"  he  sneered.  "  Always  tell  the  truth. 
It  is  the  proper  thing  to  do,  and  it  will  bring  its  own 
reward  in  the  end.  Only  it  is  attended  with  personal 
inconvenience  at  times,  such  as  the  present,  for  instance. 
How  did  Colonel  Berrington  get  here  ?  " 

"  I  will  save  your  sister  the  trouble  of  replying," 
Berrington  cried.  "  I  came  here,  acting  on  certain  in- 
formation that  had  come  to  my  knowledge.  I  came 
here  to  discover  if  I  could  learn  some  facts  bearing  on 
the  disappearance  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll's  body.     And 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  163 

I  am  not  disposed  to  think  that  my  efforts  are  alto- 
gether in  vain." 

It  was  a  bold  speech  and  not  without  its  effect.  The 
woman  called  Cora  turned  a  shade  paler,  and  the  clean- 
shaven man  by  her  side  winced.  The  only  one  who 
seemed  disposed  to  a  mild  course  of  policy  was  Beut- 
wood. 

"  For  heaven's  sake  don't  let  us  have  any  violence," 
he  said  hoarsely.  "  There  has  been  too  much  of  that 
already.  I  mean  there  is  no  necessity  for  anything  of 
the  kind.  If  Colonel  Berrington  knows  anything  of 
any  of  us " 

"  I  know  everything,"  Berrington  replied.  It  seemed 
to  him  that  a  bold  course  of  action  was  the  best  to  be 
taken  under  the  circumstances.  "  For  instance,  I  have 
a  pretty  accurate  knowledge  of  the  checkered  past  of 
Dr.  Bentwood  and  the  malignant  scoundrel  who  calls 
himself  Carl  Sartoris.  Of  Miss  Mary  Sartoris  I  will 
say  nothing.  There  are  others  here,  too,  whose  past  is 
not  altogether  wrapped  in  mystery.  There  are  General 
Gastang  and  Countess  de  la  Moray,  for  instance.  And 
once  I  am  outside  these  walls " 

Sartoris  pushed  his  chair  close  to  the  speaker.  He 
was  seething  with  passionate  rage,  his  face  was  livid 
with  anger.  For  the  moment  he  could  do  nothing ;  he 
only  thirsted  for  the  blood  of  the  bold  Berrington. 

"  You  are  not  outside  these  walls,"  he  said.  "  You 
are  not  likely  to  be  outside  these  walls  for  some  time 
to  come.  You  have  described  us  in  language  that  you 
have  spared  no  trouble  to  render  abusive.  You  know 
too  much.  And  we  have  our  own  way  here  of  dealing 
with  enemies  of  ours  who  know  too  much." 

There  was  no  mistaking  the   dreadful  threat  that 


164  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

underlay  the  hoarse  speech.  There  was  underground 
murder  in  the  eyes  of  Sartoris.  Berrington  smiled 
scornfully. 

"  I  know  exactly  what  you  mean,"  he  said ;  "  indeed, 
I  know  more  than  you  give  me  credit  for.  And  I  will 
make  my  suspicions  certainties." 

Berrington  advanced  swiftly  to  the  table  and  laid 
a  hand  on  the  sheet  that  covered  the  still,  silent  form 
there.  Another  instant,  and  the  whole  mystery  would 
have  been  exposed.  But  Sartoris  propelled  his  chair 
forward  and  grabbed  Berrington  by  the  arm. 

"  You  cowards,"  he  yelled.  "  If  I  were  not  cursed 
by  these  crippled  bones  of  mine,  I  would  have  plucked 
that  fellow's  heart  from  his  body.  Don't  stand  there 
like  a  lot  of  mummies.  Pull  him  back,  I  say,  pull  him 
back." 

The  harsh,  ringing  command  seemed  to  restore  the 
other  listeners  to  a  sense  of  what  they  owed  to  them- 
selves. With  a  cry,  the  man  called  Beggie  was  on 
Berrington,  though  Mary  Sartoris  had  fallen  and 
clasped  him  around  the  knees.  With  an  oath,  Bent- 
wood  darted  forward  and  flung  himself  upon  Berring- 
ton's  shoulders.  The  struggle  was  a  hot  one,  for  the 
Colonel  fought  well,  but  the  odds  were  too  many  for 
him,  and  he  was  borne  at  length  heavily  to  the  ground. 
His  head  came  in  contact  with  the  floor,  and  he  lay 
there  just  a  minute  dazed  and  giddy. 

He  had  failed,  too,  which  was  the  most  humiliating 
part  of  the  business.  He  had,  at  any  cost,  resolved  to 
make  assurance  doubly  sure.  He  could  see  the  grin- 
ning triumph  on  the  face  of  Sartoris,  as  he  scrambled 
to  his  feet;  he  could  see  the  tears  in  Mary's  eyes.  For 
the  personal  danger  to  himself  he  cared  nothing. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  165 

"  Let 's  make  an  end  of  it,"  Sartoris  cried.  "  He  's 
too  dangerous  to  live.  Let  us  make  an  end  of  him. 
Dead  men  tell  no  tales." 

"  No,  no,"  Mary  cried.  "  You  shall  not  do  it.  No, 
no." 

"  Then  go  and  fetch  the  police,"  Sartoris  said  with 
a  little  laugh.  "  Fetch  them  in,  I  say.  Let  them 
come  here  and  investigate,  and  after  that  you  can 
stand  in  the  dock  and  give  evidence  against  your  own 
brother.  My  child,  you  are  free  to  depart  as  soon  as 
you  like.     Go  now !  " 

Mary  Sartoris  stood  there  trembling  and  hesitating. 
Sartoris  wheeled  his  chair  rapidly  and  dexterously 
across  to  her,  and  then  raised  his  fist  in  a  threatening 
manner.  For  a  moment  it  seemed  as  if  he  meant  to 
strike  the  girl. 

"  Go  now !  "  He  repeated  his  command  harshly. 
"  Go  at  once !  Go  out  of  my  house  and  never  come 
back  again,  you  white-faced  mewling  cat.  Pah,  you 
dare  not  do  anything.  You  are  not  to  stay  in  the  room. 
Go!" 

The  girl  seemed  dazed  and  unable  to  exercise  her 
own  will.  She  crept  with  faltering  steps  to  the  door. 
As  she  was  going  out,  she  turned  an  eye  of  affection 
on  Berrington. 

"  If  you  will  only  promise  me  that  there  will  be  no 
violence,"  she  said,  "  I " 

"  I  promise  that,"  Bentwood  said  in  a  cringing 
voice.  He  was  the  only  man  there  who  seemed  to  be 
restless  and  uneasy  and  anxious.  "  There  is  going  to 
be  no  violence  so  long  as  I  am  here.  Why  should  there 
be  any  violence  at  all  ? " 

The  man  asked  the  question  with  an  eye  on  Berring- 


166  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

ton.  For  some  reason  or  other  he  seemed  very  desirous 
of  pleasing  the  soldier,  and  yet  not  offending  his  com- 
rades.    Sartoris  laughed. 

"  Cautious  man,"  he  said.  "  Always  be  on  the  safe 
side.  Hang  the  girl,  ia  she  going  to  stay  here  all 
night  ?  Go,  I  tell  you ;  take  your  white  face  from  me. 
Go." 

The  door  closed  behind  Mary  Sartoris,  and  some- 
thing like  a  sob  came  from  the  hall.  With  a  sudden 
fury  and  new  strength  Berrington  darted  to  the  table 
again.  Once  more  he  might  have  been  successful,  but 
the  keen  eye  of  Sartoris  was  upon  him ;  the  cripple 
seemed  to  read  his  thoughts.  Like  a  flash  the  invalid 
chair  caught  Berrington  on  the  shin,  and  sent  him 
sprawling  across  the  floor;  the  chair  sped  on  and  there 
was  a  sudden  click  and  the  room  was  in  darkness.  Ber- 
rington had  a  quick  mental  picture  of  where  different 
objects  were  —  and  he  made  a  dash  for  the  switch. 
Some  great  force  seemed  to  grip  him  by  the  hands,  he 
was  powerless  to  move;  he  heard  what  seemed  to  him 
to  be  the  swing  and  jolt  of  machinery.  Somebody  was 
laughing  much  as  if  a  funny  play  was  being  performed 
before  delighted  eyes,  with  Berrington  for  the  third 
man  of  the  company,  and  then  the  light  came  up  again. 

Angry  and  baffled  and  disappointed  as  Berrington 
was,  all  these  feelings  gave  way  to  amazement  as  he 
looked  around  the  room.  Every  sign  of  a  body  had 
disappeared,  the  room  was  empty  save  for  Sartoris, 
who  sat  smoking  a  cigarette,  with  a  sardonic  smile  on 
his  face.  All  the  others  had  gone,  and  the  body  was 
gone  from  the  table;  on  the  latter  was  a  dark  crimson 
cloth  surmounted  by  a  mass  of  flowers  arranged  taste- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  167 

fully  around  an  electric  stand.     Sartoris  laughed  in 
an  easy,  mocking  way. 

"  Miracles  whilst  you  wait,"  he  said.  "  I  just  press 
a  button  and  there  you  are.  You  say  that  you  saw  a 
lot  of  people  here  and  some  object  on  the  table.  You 
would  swear  to  that  ?  " 

"  Being  in  full  possession  of  my  faculties,  I  would," 
Berrington  said  grimly. 

"  And  where  are  they  ?  There  was  no  lady,  there 
were  no  people,  only  my  humble,  sweet  self  always 
glad  to  see  my  distinguished  friend  Colonel  Berring- 
ton." 

Berrington  made  no  reply  for  a  moment.  It  seemed 
hopeless  to  try  to  cope  with  the  little  fiend  who  ap- 
peared to  have  all  the  powers  of  hell  behind  him.  He 
looked  down  at  the  floor  as  if  to  find  evidence  of  magic 
there,  but  the  pattern  of  the  turkey  carpet  was  intact, 
the  big  brass-headed  nails  were  in  the  corners  and 
along  the  fireplace. 

" '  There  are  more  things  in  Heaven  and  earth, 
Horatio,  than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy,' " 
Sartoris  quoted.  "  As  a  rule  your  soldier  is  a  dull 
man  and  not  gifted  with  much  imagination.  And  so 
you  have  taken  this  matter  up  on  the  principle  that 
Satan  finds  some  mischief  still  for  idle  hands  to  do. 
You  see  that  I  am  in  a  mood  to  quote  to-night  But 
on  the  whole  you  are  not  what  the  world  calls  a  bad 
fellow.  On  the  contrary,  I  am.  And  that  being  the 
case,  and  as  I  am  not  supposed  to  be  in  the  least  scru- 
pulous in  my  methods,  it  stands  to  reason  that  I  am 
likely  to  get  the  better  of  you.  Now  you  are  a  man 
of  honour,  and  if  you  give  your  word  it  is  as  good  as 
your  bond.     Give  me  your  word  that  not  one  sugges- 


168  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

tion  of  -what  has  taken  place  here  to-night  shall  be 
spoken,  and  you  are  free  to  go." 

Berrington  laughed  as  he  looked  around  him. 

"  Who  is  going  to  stop  me  ?  "  he  asked.  "  You  seem 
to  be  sure  of  your  ground.  If  you  were  not  a  cripple 
I  would  give  you  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  a 
thrashing  that  you  ever  had  in  your  life.  My  word 
will  be  passed  to  worthier  stuff  than  you." 

"  So  you  are  going  to  take  advantage  of  my  weak- 
ness and  walk  out  of  the  house  ?  "  Sartoris  asked. 

"  That  is  part  of  the  programme,"  Berrington  said. 
"  I  feel  perfectly  sure  that  a  bold  front  would  dismay 
your  friends.     I  wish  you  good  night." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

SARTORIS  sat  in  his  chair  without  expressing  any 
opinion  or  emotion  of  any  kind.  There  was  just 
a  faint  suggestion  of  a  smile  on  his  face  as  if  he  were 
getting  a  little  more  pleasure  than  usual  out  of  his 
cigarette.  He  glanced  quite  casually  in  the  direction 
of  the  doorway,  and  he  moved  his  chair  just  a  little. 
Then  his  left  hand  stole  quietly  to  his  side. 

"  The  battle  is  not  always  to  the  strong,"  he  said 
in  quite  a  gentle  tone  of  voice.  "  But  since  you  will 
not  give  me  your  word,  I  must  do  without  it.  If  you 
want  to  go,  there  is  no  reason  why  I  should  detain  you 
any  longer.  Good  night,  sir,  and  pleasant  dreams  to 
you." 

Though  the  words  were  uttered  in  quite  a  simple 
fashion,  there  was  a  ring  about  them  that  Berrington 
did  not  altogether  like.  He  wanted  to  flatter  himself 
that  he  had  conquered  this  murderous  ruffian  by  sheer 
force  of  will,  as  he  had  done  more  than  once  with  cer- 
tain native  tribes  that  he  had  been  sent  out  against. 

But  he  could  not  think  that  he  had  any  kind  of 
right  to  the  feeling.  These  people  had  really  got  the 
best  of  him,  for  they  had  spirited  away  that  mysteri- 
ous parcel,  and  what  was  more  to  the  point,  he  had 
betrayed  the  fact  that  he  had  a  pretty  good  idea  of 
what  that  parcel  was.  Why,  then,  was  there  this  sud- 
den change  of  front  on  the  part  of  Carl  Sartoris  ?    The 

169 


170  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

thought  was  uppermost  in  Berrington's  mind  as  he 
laid  a  hand  on  the  door. 

Then  he  reeled  back  as  if  struck  by  some  stupendous 
unseen  force.  A  great  pain  gripped  him  from  head  to 
foot,  his  brain  seemed  to  be  on  fire.  In  vain  he  strove 
to  release  his  hand  on  the  door  knob;  it  seemed  welded 
to  the  metal.  Erom  head  to  foot  the  shooting  agony 
went  on.  With  his  teeth  ripping  his  lower  lip  till  the 
blood  came,  Berrington  tried  to  fight  down  the  yell  of 
pain  that  filled  his  throat,  but  the  effort  was  beyond 
human  power.  A  long  piteous  wail  of  agony  and  en- 
treaty came  from  him.  It  was  only  when  the  third  or 
fourth  cry  was  torn  from  him  and  he  felt  the  oppres- 
sion of  a  hideous  death,  that  the  thing  suddenly  ceased 
and  Sartoris's  gentle,  mocking  laughter  took  the  place 
of  the  agony. 

"  You  are  not  feeling  very  well,"  Sartoris  called 
out.  "  If  you  are  not  altogether  in  a  state  of  physical 
collapse,  will  you  kindly  walk  this  way.  A  little 
brandy  will  about  fit  the  case." 

Berrington  was  past  protest  and  past  flight,  for  the 
moment.  He  seemed  to  be  sick  to  the  soul.  There 
came  back  to  him  the  vivid  recollection  of  the  time 
when  he  had  lain  out  in  the  jungle  all  night,  with  a  bul- 
let through  his  lungs,  waiting  wearily  for  death  in  the 
morning.  He  flung  himself  exhaustedly  into  a  chair 
and  gasped  for  breath.  Sartoris  watched  him  as  some 
cold-blooded  scientist  might  have  watched  the  flaying 
of  a  live  animal. 

"  Your  heart  is  not  nearly  so  bad  as  you  think,"  he 
said.  "  When  the  pressure  goes  from  your  lungs  you 
will  be  much  better.  That  is  a  little  dodge  of  mine 
which  is  built  upon  a  pretty  full  knowledge  of  elec- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  171 

tricity.  Up  to  now  I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of 
giving  it  a  good  trial.     Are  you  feeling  any  better  ?  " 

Berrington  nodded.  The  colour  was  coming  back 
to  his  cheeks  now,  the  painful  feeling  at  his  chest  was 
abating.     The  brandy  was  going  to  the  right  place. 

"  You  malignant  little  fiend,"  he  gasped.  "  I  should 
be  doing  the  world  a  service  if  I  took  you  by  the  throat 
and  squeezed  the  life  out  of  you." 

"  Well,  the  remedy  is  in  your  hands,  though  I  doubt 
whether  or  not  a  judge  and  jury  would  take  the  same 
sanguine  view  of  the  case.  But  you  are  free  to  try  if 
you  like.  I  am  only  a  mere  miserable  bag  of  bones, 
and  you  are  a  strong  man.     Get  to  work." 

The  cackling  challenge  passed  unheeded.  Actually 
there  was  something  about  the  strange  little  man  to 
be  afraid  of.  He  took  up  the  thread  of  conversation 
again. 

"  You  will  find  that  every  exit  is  guarded  in  the 
same  way,"  he  said.  "  I  have  only  to  set  the  whole 
machinery  in  motion  and  you  are  powerless.  You  are 
in  my  hands.  If  you  had  touched  me  when  I  asked 
you  just  now,  you  would  have  been  dead  at  my  feet. 
But  strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  have  a  heart  hidden  in 
this  crooked  little  body  of  mine  somewhere.  I  was 
not  always  bad,  as  you  know.  There  was  a  time  when 
I  was  another  man." 

"  Never,"  Berrington  said  dispassionately.  "  The 
seeds  of  evil  were  always  there." 

"  Well,  let  that  pass,  if  you  like.  A  bad  man  and 
a  bad  woman  and  a  dreadful  accident  have  reduced  me 
to  what  you  see.  What  took  place  here  to-night  is 
beside  the  mark.  The  fact  remains  that  you  know  too 
much.     You  stand  between  us  and  a  scheme  that  I 


172  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

have  been  plotting  for  years.  Whether  that  scheme 
is  connected  with  Sir  Charles  Darryll  matters  nothing. 
The  great  point,  as  I  said  before,  is  that  you  know  too 
much.    What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  " 

"  Wait  my  chance  and  publish  my  knowledge  to  the 
world,"  Berrington  cried. 

"  And  lose  Mary  for  ever  ?  Oh,  I  know  that  you 
are  still  in  love  with  her,  I  know  that  you  will  never 
be  happy  till  she  is  your  wife.  But  you  seem  to  lose 
sight  of  the  fact  that  she  is  strongly  attached  to  me. 
And  if  harm  comes  to  me  through  you,  Mary  will  never 
become  Mrs.  Berrington.  She  will  love  you  and  leave 
you  as  they  do  in  the  stories." 

"  You  cannot  detain  me  here  for  any  length  of 
time,"  Berrington  said  coldly. 

"  I  can  keep  you  here  till  I  have  finished  my  cam- 
paign," Sartoris  replied.  "  I  could  murder  you,  and 
nobody  be  any  the  wiser." 

Berrington  thought  of  Field,  and  smiled.  Hitherto 
he  had  not  tried  diplomacy.  His  contempt  and  hatred 
for  this  man,  his  knowledge  of  his  own  strength  and 
courage,  had  sufficed  for  the  present.  Now  it  seemed 
time  to  resort  to  strategy. 

"  You  are  quite  correct,  so  far,"  he  said.  "  I  know 
much,  I  know  a  great  deal  more  than  you  imagine. 
But  in  taking  the  risks  I  took  to-night  I  did  not  do  so 
blindly.  I  had  my  own  reasons  for  attending  to  the 
work  privately.  But  I  recognized  my  danger  and  the 
man  I  had  to  deal  with.  So,  indeed,  I  would  proceed 
to  make  my  retreat  safe.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  sealed 
orders  ?  " 

"  Naturally  I  have.  But  what  have  they  to  do  with 
the  present  case  ?  " 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  173 

"  Everything.  When  an  admiral  detaches  a  part  of 
his  fleet  in  war  time,  he  sends  the  detached  part  away 
with  sealed  orders  which  are  to  be  opened  under  certain 
circumstances.  If  those  said  circumstances  do  not 
arise,  then  the  sealed  orders  are  destroyed.  As  I  do 
not  desire  my  second  in  command  to  know  too  much,  I 
gave  him  sealed  orders.  If  I  do  not  return  by  a  certain 
time,  those  orders  are  to  be  opened.  I  should  say  that 
they  are  being  opened  about  now.  You  understand 
me?" 

Sartoris  nodded;  it  was  quite  clear  that  he  under- 
stood perfectly  well.  But  his  dry  little  face  did  not 
change  in  the  slightest. 

"  That  was  clever,"  he  said ;  "  but  not  quite  clever 
enough.  I  should  have  gone  a  little  further  if  I  had 
been  in  your  position.  What  you  say  merely  induces 
me  to  get  rid  of  you  altogether.  But  let  us  go  into  my 
room  and  discuss  the  matter  quietly.  Kindly  turn  my 
chair  around,  no,  not  that  way.  Grip  the  handle  at 
the  back  and  push  me " 

Berrington  heard  no  more.  As  his  hands  came  in 
contact  with  the  brass  rail  at  the  back  of  the  chair  there 
came  a  tremendous  blow  at  the  base  of  the  brain,  a  cold 
feeling  of  sudden  death,  and  the  crisis  was  past.  When 
Berrington  came  to  himself  again  he  was  lying  on  a 
bed  in  a  small  room;  there  was  a  lamp  on  a  table  by 
his  side.  He  had  no  feeling  whatever  that  he  had  suf- 
fered from  violence  of  any  kind,  his  head  was  clear  and 
bright,  his  limbs  felt  as  elastic  and  virile  as  ever.  He 
was  like  a  man  who  had  suddenly  awakened  from  a 
long  sleep;  he  was  just  as  fresh  and  vigorous.  The 
bed  on  which  he  was  lying  completed  the  illusion. 


174  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  What  new  devil's  work  is  this  ? "  Berrington  mut- 
tered.    "  Oh,  I  recollect." 

The  room  was  small  but  comfortably  furnished. 
There  was  a  fire  ready  laid  in  the  grate;  on  the  ceil- 
ing was  a  three-branch  electrolier,  but  the  switch  by  the 
door  had  been  removed  for  some  reason  or  other. 

On  the  table  by  the  bed  was  a  very  liberal  supper, 
flanked  by  a  decanter  of  whisky  and  a  syphon  of  soda 
water,  also  a  box  of  cigarettes  and  another  of  cigars. 
A  silver  match-box  invited  the  prisoner  to  smoke.  He 
took  a  cigarette. 

Clearly  he  was  a  prisoner.  The  window  was  shut- 
tered with  iron,  and  a  small  round  ventilator ;  high  up, 
inside  the  door,  was  another  sheet  of  iron.  There  was 
perhaps  a  little  consolation  in  the  fact  that  no  personal 
violence  was  intended.  Eor  a  long  time  Berrington 
reviewed  the  situation.  At  any  rate  he  could  see  no 
way  out  of  the  mess  for  the  present.  He  smoked  his 
cigarette  and  ate  his  supper,  and  that  being  done,  a 
feeling  of  fatigue  stole  over  him.  Looking  at  his 
watch,  he  saw  that  it  was  past  one  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, a  very  late  hour  for  him. 

"  I  '11  go  to  bed,"  Berrington  told  himself.  "  Per- 
haps I  shall  be  able  to  see  a  way  out  in  the  morning. 
On  the  whole  my  diplomacy  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
a  success.  It  would  have  been  much  better  if  I  had 
not  hinted  that  I  had  taken  somebody  else  into  my  con- 
fidence." 

Despite  his  danger  Berrington  slept  soundly.  Bright 
sunshine  was  pouring  into  the  room  through  the  little 
porthole  in  the  iron  shutter  as  he  came  to  himself.  By 
his  side  was  a  cold  breakfast,  with  a  spirit  lamp  for 
the  purpose  of  making  coffee.     Berrington  had  hardly 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  1?5 

finished  and  applied  a  match  to  a  cigarette  before  he  was 
startled  by  the  scream  of  a  whistle.  Looking  around 
to  see  whence  the  sound  came,  his  eyes  fell  upon  a 
speaking  tube.  His  heart  gave  a  great  leap  as  it  oc- 
curred to  the  prisoner  that  perhaps  Mary  Sartoris  was 
calling  him.  He  crossed  over  and  pulled  out  the  whis- 
tle at  his  end  and  answered  promptly. 

"  Glad  to  hear  that  you  have  had  a  good  night's 
rest,"  came  the  dry  voice  of  Sartoris.  "  The  bed  is 
comfortable,  the  sheets  well  aired,  and  I  can  vouch  for 
the  quality  of  the  cigars.  By  the  way,  as  I  have  seen 
nothing  of  your  confederate  I  am  confirmed  in  my  pre- 
vious judgment  that  you  were  trying  to  bluff  me.  Is 
not  that  so  ?  " 

Berrington  said  nothing,  silence  giving  consent.  On 
the  whole  it  occurred  to  him  it  would  be  far  better  to 
let  Sartoris  conclude  that  he  was  alone  in  the  business. 

"  Very  good,"  the  dry  voice  went  on ;  "  you  are  like 
the  curly-headed  boy  in  the  song  who  never  —  or  hardly 
ever  —  told  a  lie.  Now  there  is  one  little  thing  that  I 
am  going  to  ask  you  to  do.  And  if  you  refuse  I  shall 
be  under  the  painful  necessity  of  causing  you  a  great 
deal  of  physical  suffering.  On  the  table  by  the  side 
of  your  bed  you  will  find  writing  paper,  pen  and  ink. 
You  will  be  so  good  as  to  write  a  letter  to  Miss  Beatrice 
Darryll  or  to  Mrs.  Richford  —  whatever  you  prefer 
to  style  her  —  asking  her  to  call  upon  you  at  the  ad- 
dress which  is  stamped  on  the  head  of  the  paper.  You 
are  to  tell  Miss  Darryll  that  she  is  not  to  say  anything 
to  anybody  about  the  visit  —  that  she  is  to  come  at  ten 
o'clock  to-night  or  later.  Tell  her  also  that  she  is  to 
bring  the  little  bunch  of  keys  that  she  will  find  in  her 
father's  dressing-case.     You  may  take  it  from  me  that 


176  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

no  harm  whatever  is  intended  to  the  young  lady. 
When  the  letter  is  finished  you  will  be  so  good  as  to 
push  it  under  the  door  of  your  room." 

"  It  is  an  excellent  programme  for  you,"  Berrington 
said  drily.  "  There  is  only  one  flaw  in  the  little  ar- 
rangement that  I  can  see  —  I  decline  to  do  anything  of 
the  kind.  You  may  do  whatever  you  like  and  treat 
me  in  any  way  you  please,  but  I  shall  decline  to  write 
that  letter.  And  you  may  whistle  up  the  tube  all  day, 
so  far  as  I  am  concerned." 

An  oath  came  up  the  tube,  then  the  voice  of  Sar- 
toris,  as  if  talking  to  somebody  else.  The  whistle  was 
clapped  on,  but  almost  immediately  it  was  removed 
and  another  voice  whispered  the  name  of  Berrington. 
His  heart  gave  a  great  leap.     Mary  was  speaking. 

"  For  heaven's  sake,  write  that  letter,"  came  the 
agonized  whisper.     "  I  pledge  you  my  word " 

The  voice  stopped  and  the  whistle  was  clapped  into 
the  tube  again. 


CHAPTEK  XXIII 

THE  request  was  a  strange  one,  Berrington  thought. 
Not  that  he  failed  to  trust  Mary  Satoris.  In 
spite  of  everything,  he  had  faith  in  her.  Whatever  she 
was  doing  in  that  queer  household,  no  shadow  of  shame 
or  disgrace  could  possibly  lie  on  her. 

And  yet  what  could  she  want  that  letter  for  ?  Again, 
what  was  the  need  to  drag  Beatrice  Darryll  into  this 
black  business  ?  The  more  Berrington  thought  it  over, 
the  more  puzzled  he  became.  Only  one  thing  was  tol- 
erably clear  —  Sir  Charles  Darryll  had  valuable  inter- 
ests somewhere,  interests  of  which  he  had  been  in  utter 
ignorance,  and  which  these  ruffians  had  determined  to 
obtain  and  apply  to  their  own  ends. 

Still,  Berrington  hesitated.  He  did  not  know  what 
would  be  for  the  best.  If  he  declined  to  write  that 
letter  it  might  be  the  worse  for  him  and  everybody  else 
in  the  long  run ;  if  he  did  write  the  letter  it  might  pos- 
sibly prove  harmful  to  Beatrice.  Certainly  Carl  Sar- 
toris  had  that  end  in  view.  Then  there  was  another 
thing  to  take  into  consideration.  Had  Inspector  Field 
got  safely  away  ? 

Berrington  could  not  be  absolutely  certain,  for  the 
reason  that  there  had  been  no  attempt  to  rescue  him 
which  was  Field's  obvious  duty  when  he  escaped.  Yet 
a  great  many  hours  had  passed  and  there  had  been  no 
attempt  of  the  kind. 

Very  thoughtfullv  Berrington  took  paper  and  pen 
12  1Y7 


178  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

and  ink  from  the  drawer  in  the  table.  He  was  not  sur- 
prised to  see  that  the  paper  bore  the  address  "  100, 
Audlej  Place."  So  Beatrice  was  to  be  lured  there  for 
some  reason,  or  other,  and  Berrington  was  to  be  used 
for  the  purpose.  He  threw  the  pen  down  and  deter- 
mined that  he  would  do  nothing  in  the  matter.  He  had 
barely  come  to  this  conclusion  when  the  whistle  in  the 
tube  sounded  very  faintly.  It  might  have  been  no  more 
than  the  wind  in  the  pipe,  and  yet  on  the  other  hand 
it  might  have  been  meant  for  a  cautious  message.  Ber- 
rington crossed  over  and  asked  a  question  in  a  low 
voice.  Immediately  a  reply  came  in  the  faintest  pos- 
sible whisper. 

"  It  is  I  who  speak,"  the  voice  said.  "  Mary,  you 
know.  By  accident  I  have  a  chance  of  a  few  words 
with  you  again.  My  brother  thinks  that  I  am  in  igno- 
rance of  everything.  He  told  me  that  you  had  left  the 
house  and  that  everybody  had  gone.  At  the  same  time 
he  declined  to  have  the  servants  back  yet,  and  that 
aroused  my  suspicions.     You  can  hear  me  ?  " 

"  My  dearest  girl,  I  can  hear  you  perfectly  well," 
Berrington  replied.  "  Where  is  your  brother  now  i 
Can  you  speak  freely  to  me  for  a  time  ? 

"  For  a  minute  or  two  perhaps,  certainly  not  more. 
Carl  has  gone  into  the  conservatory  for  something;  he 
may  be  back  almost  at  once.  He  told  me  that  you  had 
gone.  I  did  not  believe  it  for  a  minute,  so  I  watched 
and  listened.  Then  I  found  out  that  you  were  a  pris- 
oner here ;  I  found  out  all  about  the  letter." 

"  The  letter  to  Beatrice  Darryll,  you  mean  ? " 

"  Yes,  yes.  Don't  ask  me  why  they  desire  to  get 
her  here,  because  I  can't  tell  you, —  I  don't  know.  But 
there  is  something  about  Burmah  and  ruby  mines  that 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  179 

I  fail  to  understand.  It  has  something  to  do  with  Sir 
Charles  Darryll  and  Miss  Violet  Decie's  father." 

"  Shall  we  ever  get  to  the  bottom  of  this  business !  " 
Berrington  exclaimed.  "  But  why  should  you  particu- 
larly want  me  to  write  that  letter  ?  " 

"  Because  I  shall  be  chosen  as  the  messenger,"  the 
girl  said  eagerly.  "  There  are  no  servants  here ;  the 
rest  of  my  brother's  friends  are  busy  elsewhere.  I 
gather  that  the  letter  is  urgent;  that  being  the  case,  I 
shall  be  chosen  to  take  it.  You  see,  I  am  supposed  to 
know  nothing  whatever  about  it.  I  shall  be  able  to  see 
Miss  Darryll  myself." 

Berrington  expressed  Kis  appreciation  of  the  sugges- 
tion. Perhaps  Mary  might  find  herself  in  a  position 
to  do  more  than  that. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said.  "  Under  the  circumstances  I 
am  to  write  that  letter  with  the  understanding  that  you 
are  going  to  convey  it  to  its  destination  and  warn  Miss 
Darryll.  But  you  must  do  more  than  that,  Mary.  It  is 
impossible  that  I  can  remain  a  prisoner  here  like  this. 
The  thing  is  a  daring  outrage  in  the  middle  of  London ; 
it  sounds  more  like  a  page  from  a  romance  than  any- 
thing else.  At  all  risks,  even  to  the  brother  by  whom 
you  are  standing  so  nobly,  you  must  do  this  thing  for 
me.  After  you  have  seen  Miss  Darryll  you  are  to  go 
down  to  Scotland  Yard  and  ask  for  an  interview  with 
Inspector  Field.  Tell  him  where  I  am  to  be  found 
and  — " 

"  Oh,  I  cannot,  Philip,  dearest,"  came  the  trembling 
whisper.     "  My  own  brother " 

"  Who  has  been  the  curse  of  your  life  and  mine," 
Berrington  said  sternly.  "What  do  you  suppose  you 
gain  by  standing  by  him  in  this  fashion  ?     Sooner  or 


180  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

later  he  must  come  within  grip  of  the  law,  and  so  all 
your  sufferings  will  be  futile.  If  there  was  anything 
to  gain  by  this  self-sacrifice  I  would  say  nothing.  But 
to  spoil  your  life  for  a  scoundrel  like  that " 

"  Don't  say  it,  Phil,"  Mary's  voice  pleaded.  "  Please 
don't  say  it.  If  you  love  me  as  you  once  seemed  to  do, 
have  a  little  patience." 

All  the  anger  melted  out  of  Berrington's  heart.  He 
had  intended  to  be  hard  and  stern,  but  that  gentle, 
pleading  voice  softened  him  at  once.  Knowing  Mary 
as  he  did,  he  could  imagine  what  her  life  had  been 
these  last  three  years.  Her  sense  of  duty  was  a  mis- 
taken one,  perhaps,  but  it  was  nobly  carried  out,  all 
the  same.  Sooner  or  later  the  effort  must  be  lost,  and 
it  occurred  to  Berrington  that  it  would  be'  cruel  to 
hurry  the  end.  Besides,  there  would  be  a  greater  sat- 
isfaction to  him  to  feel  that  he  had  beaten  Sartoris  at 
his  own  game. 

"  I  love  you  now  as  I  loved  you  in  the  happy  years 
gone  by,"  he  said.  "  Indeed,  I  love  you  more,  for  I 
know  how  you  have  suffered,  dearest.  Mind  you,  I  am 
not  afraid.  I  do  not  regard  myself  as  being  in  any 
great  danger  here  —  that  is  not  the  point.  So  I  will 
write  the  letter  and  you  shall  deliver  it  when  you 
please.     What  is  that  ?  " 

There  was  a  sudden  commotion  at  the  far  end  of  the 
speaking  tube,  and  something  like  the  sound  of  wheels. 
Berrington  bent  his  head  eagerly  to  listen. 

"  Is  there  anybody  there  ? "  he  asked. 

"  My  brother  is  coming  back,"  Mary  said  in  a  voice 
so  faint  that.  Berrington  could  hardly  catch  the  words. 
"  I  must  fly.     If  he  knows  that  I  have  been  here  he 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  181 

will  have  his  suspicions.  I  will  speak  to  you  again  as 
soon  as  possible." 

The  whistle  was  clapped  to,  and  the  conversation 
ended.  There  was  nothing  for  it  now  but  patience. 
Berrington  took  the  pen  and  began  to  write  the  letter. 
He  wondered  if  he  could  possibly  warn  Beatrice  be- 
tween the  lines.  There  was  yet  a  chance  that  Mary 
might  not  be  the  messenger. 

Berrington  racked  his  brains,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 
He  must  leave  the  matter  to  chance,  after  all.  The 
speaking  tube  was  going  again,  for  the  whistle  trilled 
shrilly.  Sartoris  was  at  the  other  end  again ;  he  seemed 
to  be  on  very  good  terms  with  himself. 

"  What  about  that  letter  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Have  you 
changed  your  mind  yet  ?  Solitary  confinement  worked 
sufficiently  on  your  nerves  yet  ?  Not  that  there  's  any 
hurry." 

"  What  shall  I  gain  if  I  write  the  letter  ? "  Berring- 
ton asked. 

"  Gain !  Why,  nothing.  The  cards  are  all  in  my 
hands,  and  I  play  them  as  I  please.  '  Yours  not  to 
reason  why,  yours  not  to  make  reply,'  as  Tennyson 
says.  For  the  present  you  are  a  prisoner,  and  for  the 
present  you  stay  where  you  are.  But  one  thing  for 
your  comfort.  The  sooner  that  letter  is  written  and 
dispatched,  the  sooner  you  will  be  free.  We  are  not 
taking  all  these  risks  for  nothing,  and  our  reward  is 
close  at  hand  now,  I  may  tell  you.  If  you  don't  write 
that  letter  I  shall  have  to  forge  it,  and  that  takes  time. 
Also  a  longer  detention  of  your  handsome  person.  If 
you  consent  to  write  that  letter  you  will  be  free  in 
eight  and  forty  hours.     Don't  address  the  envelope." 

Berrington  checked  a  desire  to  fling  the  suggestion 


182  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

back  in  the  speaker's  teeth.  It  angered  him  to  feel 
that  he  was  in  the  power  of  this  little  cripple,  and  that 
events  in  which  he  should  have  taken  a  hand  were  pro- 
ceeding without  him.  But  it  was  no  time  for  feeling 
of  that  kind. 

"  I  admit  the  defeat  of  the  moment,"  he  said.  "  I 
will  write  that  letter  at  once.  But  look  to  yourself 
when  my  time  comes." 

Sartoris  laughed  scornfully,  as  he  could  afford  to  do. 
Berrington  could  hear  him  humming  as  he  clapped  in 
the  whistle,  and  then  silence  fell  again.  The  letter  was 
finished  and  sealed  at  length,  and  pushed  under  the 
door  as  Sartoris  had  directed.  A  little  later  and  there 
came  the  sound  of  a  footstep  outside  and  a  gentle 
scratching  on  the  door  panel. 

"  Is  that  you,  Mary  ? "  Berrington  asked,  instantly 
guessing  who  it  was.  "  Have  you  come  for  the  let- 
ter?" 

"  Yes,  I  have,"  was  the  whispered  reply.  "  My 
brother  could  not  manage  to  get  up  the  stairs.  He  has 
one  of  his  very  bad  attacks  to-day.  He  has  not  the 
least  idea  that  I  know  anything.  He  said  he  dropped 
an  unaddressed  letter  on  this  landing  last  night,  and  he 
asked  me  to  fetch  it.     I  dare  not  stay  a  minute." 

"  Don't  go  quite  yet,"  Berrington  pleaded.  "  I  have 
had  a  brilliant  idea.  I  can't  stop  to  tell  you  what  it  is 
just  now.  The  switch  of  the  electric  light  has  been 
removed  from  here.  Can  you  tell  me  where  I  can 
find  it?" 

"  You  want  more  light  ?  "  Mary  asked.  "  Well,  it 
is  a  little  dreary  in  there  with  only  a  lamp.  The  switch 
was  taken  off  some  time  ago  when  the  walls  were  being 
done,  and  the  electricians  forgot  to  replace  it     It  is 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  183 

somewhere  in  the  room,  for  I  recollect  seeing  it.  But 
unless  you  understand  that  kind  of  work " 

"  Oh,  soldiers  understand  something  of  everything," 
said  Berrington  cheerfully.  "  I  shall  be  able  to  man- 
age, no  doubt.     I  won't  detain  you  any  longer." 

Mary  slipped  away,  and  Berrington  commenced  to 
make  a  careful  search  of  the  room.  He  found  what  he 
wanted  presently,  in  a  little  blue  cup  on  the  overman- 
tel, and  in  a  few  minutes  he  had  fixed  the  switch  to 
the  wall.  As  he  pressed  the  little  brass  stud  down, 
the  room  was  flooded  with  a  brilliant  light. 

"  There  's  some  comfort  in  being  able  to  see,  at  any 
rate,"  Berrington  reflected.  "  It 's  ten  chances  to  one 
that  my  little  scheme  does  not  come  off,  yet  the  tenth 
chance  may  work  in  my  favour.  I  '11  wait  till  it  gets 
dark  —  no  use  trying  it  before." 

Berrington  dozed  off  in  his  chair,  and  soon  fell  into 
a  profound  sleep.  When  he  came  to  himself  again,  a 
clock  somewhere  was  striking  the  hour  of  eleven.  There 
was  no  stream  of  light  through  the  little  round  venti- 
lator in  the  shutter,  so  that  Berrington  did  not  need  to 
be  told  that  the  hour  was  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 

"  By  Jove,  what  a  time  I  've  slept,"  the  soldier  mut- 
tered.    "What's  that?" 

Loud  voices  downstairs,  voices  of  men  quarrelling. 
Berrington  pulled  the  whistle  out  of  the  tube  and 
listened.  Someone  had  removed  the  whistle  from  the 
other  end,  or  else  it  had  been  left  out  by  accident,  for 
the  sound  came  quite  clear  and  distinct. 

It  was  the  voice  of  Sartoris  that  was  speaking,  a 
voice  like  a  snarling  dog. 

"  I  tell  you  you  are  wrong,"  Sartoris  said.  "  You 
tried  to  fool  me,  and  when  we  make  use  of  you  and 


184:  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

get  the  better  of  you,  then  you  whine  like  a  cur  that  is 
whipped.  Don't  imagine  that  you  have  your  poor  mis- 
guided wife  to  deal  with." 

"  My  wife  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  case,"  the 
other  man  said,  "  so  leave  her  out." 

Berrington's  heart  was  beating  a  little  faster  as  he 
glued  his  ear  to  the  tube.  He  did  not  want  to  miss  a 
single  word  of  the  conversation. 

"  This  grows  interesting,"  he  said  softly.  "  A  quar- 
rel between  Sartoris  and  Stephen  Hichford.  Evidently 
I  am  going  to  learn  something." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

EVERY  word  of  the  conversation  was  quite  plain 
and  distinct.  Richford  seemed  to  be  very  vexed 
about  something,  but  on  the  other  hand  Sartoris  ap- 
peared to  be  on  the  best  of  terms  with  himself. 

"  You  tried  to  get  the  better  of  us,"  he  was  saying. 
"  You  thought  that  clever  people  like  ourselves  were 
going  to  be  mere  puppets  in  the  play,  that  we  were 
going  to  pull  your  chestnuts  for  you.  You  with  the 
brains  of  a  rabbit,  and  the  intelligence  of  a  torn  cat! 
That  low  cunning  of  yours  is  all  very  well  in  the  City, 
but  it  is  of  no  use  with  me.  Where  are  those  dia- 
monds ? " 

"  Those  diamonds  are  so  safe  that  we  can't  touch 
them,"  Richford  sneered. 

"  Very  well,  my  friend.  Believe  me,  we  shall  know 
how  to  act  when  the  time  comes.  But  you  are  wasting 
time  here.  You  should  be  in  Edward  Street  long  ago. 
Edward  Street  in  the  Borough;  you  know  the  place  I 
mean.  The  others  are  there,  Reggie  and  Cora  and  the 
rest,  to  say  nothing  of  the  object  of  our  solicitous  de- 
sires.    You  follow  me  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  follow  everything,  confound  you," 
Richford  growled.  "  You  are  trying  to  frighten  me 
with  your  cry  of  danger.  As  if  I  was  fool  enough  to 
believe  that  story." 

"  You  can  just  please  yourself  whether  you  believe 
it  or  not,"  Sartoris  replied.     "  But  the  danger  is  real 

185 


186  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

enough.  I  have  had  the  salt  two  days  now  in  succes- 
sion. It  is  true  that  it  came  by  post  and  was  not  ad- 
dressed to  me  here,  but  it  is  proof  positive  of  the  fact 
that  our  yellow  friends  are  on  the  right  track  at  last. 
They  may  even  be  outside  now.  That  is  why  I  want 
you  to  go  as  far  as  Edward  Street  without  delay." 

Richford  seemed  to  be  convinced  at  last,  for  he  made 
no  reply. 

**  And  you  need  not  worry  about  your  wife  for  the 
present/'  Sartoris  went  on.  "  So  long  as  she  is  your 
wife  you  come  in  for  your  share  of  the  plunder  when 
the  division  takes  place.  Nor  need  you  let  her  know 
that  you  married  her  for  her  fortune,  and  not  for  her 
pretty  face.  People  will  be  surprised  to  discover  what 
a  rich  man  Sir  Charles  really  was." 

Berrington  started  with  surprise.  A  great  flood  of 
light  had  been  let  in  on  the  scene  in  the  last  few  words 
of  this  overheard  conversation.  So  there  was  a  large 
fortune  somewhere,  and  this  was  at  the  bottom  of  this 
dark  conspiracy.  The  conversation  trailed  off  pres- 
ently, and  Berrington  heard  no  more.  But  his  heart 
was  beating  now  with  fierce  exultation,  for  he  had 
heard  enough.  Without  knowing  it,  Sir  Charles  Dar- 
ryll  had  been  a  rich  man.  But  those  miscreants  knew 
it,  and  that  was  the  reason  why  they  were  working  in 
this  strange  way.  A  door  closed  somewhere  and  then 
there  was  silence.  It  was  quite  evident  that  Richford 
had  left  the  house. 

A  minute  or  two  later  and  Berrington  got  his  flash 
signal  at  work.  He  used  it  over  and  over  again  for 
an  hour  or  so  in  the  hope  that  the  house  was  being 
watched.  A  great  sigh  of  satisfaction  broke  from  him 
presently  when  he  knew  the  signal  was  being  answered. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  187 

Once  niore  there  was  an  irritating  delay  and  then  the 
quick  tapping  of  the  reply.  Field  was  not  far  off,  and 
Field  had  grasped  the  scheme.  Also  he  had  to  send 
for  somebody  to  translate  the  flashing  signs.  Berring- 
ton  understood  it  now  as  well  as  if  he  had  been  outside 
with  the  police. 

He  sent  his  messages  through  quickly  now,  and  re- 
ceived his  replies  as  regularly.  Nor  did  he  forget  to 
impart  the  information  he  had  discovered  relative  to 
the  house  in  Edward  Street,  Borough.  On  the  whole 
it  had  not  been  a  bad  night's  work. 

A  restless  desire  to  be  up  and  doing  something 
gripped  Berrington.  He  wandered  impatiently  about 
the  room,  listening  at  the  tube  from  time  to  time,  in 
the  hope  of  getting  something  fresh.  Down  below  he 
could  hear  the  sharp  purring  of  the  electric  bell  and 
the  shuffle  of  Sartoris's  chair  over  the  floor  of  the  hall. 
Then  there  was  a  quick  cry  which  stopped  with  start- 
ling suddenness,  as  if  a  hand  had  gripped  the  throat 
of  somebody  who  called  out  with  fear. 

For  a  little  time  after  that,  silence.  Then  voices 
began  to  boom  downstairs,  voices  in  strange  accents 
that  seemed  to  be  demanding  something.  Evidently 
foreigners  of  some  kind,  Berrington  thought,  as  he 
strained  his  ears  to  catch  something  definite.  Sartoris 
seemed  to  be  pleading  for  somebody,  and  the  others 
were  stern  and  determined.  It  was  some  time  before 
Berrington  began  to  understand  what  nationality  the 
newcomers  were.     A  liquid  voice  was  upraised. 

"  Burmah,"  Berrington  cried.  "  I  thought  I  knew 
the  tongue.  Burmese  beyond  a  doubt.  I  wish  those 
fellows  would  not  speak  quite  so  quickly.     I  wish  that 


188  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

I  had  learned  a  little  more  of  the  language  when  I  had 
the  opportunity.     Ah,  what  was  that  ?  " 

A  familiar  phrase  had  struck  home  to  the  old  cam- 
paigner. One  of  the  newcomers  was  saying  something 
about  rubies.  There  were  ruby  mines  in  Burmah, 
some  of  which  had  never  been  explored  by  white  men. 
Sir  Charles  Darryll  had  been  out  there  in  his  younger 
days  and  so  had  his  friend,  the  Honourable  Edward 
Decie.  Suppose  that  rubies  had  something  to  do  with 
the  papers  that  Sartoris  declared  Sir  Charles  possessed. 
Berrington  was  feeling  now  that  his  weary  hours  of 
imprisonment  had  by  no  means  been  wasted.  He  heard 
Sartoris's  sullen  negative,  a  sound  of  a  blow,  and  a 
moan  of  pain,  then  silence  again. 

Perhaps  those  strangers  downstairs  were  applying 
torture.  Berrington  had  heard  blood-curdling  stories 
of  what  the  Burmese  could  do  in  that  way.  Bad  as 
he  was,  Sartoris  had  never  lacked  pluck  and  courage, 
and  he  was  not  the  man  to  cry  out  unless  the  pain  was 
past  endurance.  The  guttural  language  returned;  it 
was  quite  evident  that  Sartoris  was  being  forced  to  do 
something  against  his  will. 

"  You  shall  have  it,"  he  said  at  last.  "  I  '11  ask  my 
secretary  to  bring  the  papers  down." 

There  was  a  shuffling  of  Sartoris's  chair  across  the 
floor,  and  then  a  puff  of  wind  came  up  the  tube.  Very 
quickly  Berrington  replaced  the  whistle.  It  flashed 
across  him  that  Sartoris  was  going  to  call  him  to  assist 
to  get  rid  of  those  yellow  friends  downstairs.  But  how 
was  that  going  to  be  done  so  long  as  the  door  was 
locked  ? 

"  Are  you  there  ? "  Sartoris  asked  in  French,  and 
in  a  whisper,  so  low  that  Berrington  could  hardly  hear. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  189 

"  Speak  to  me,  Colonel,  and  use  the  same  language 
that  I  am  using." 

"  All  right,"  Berrington  replied.  "  Anything  wrong 
downstairs  ?    What  can  I  do  to  help  you  ?  " 

"  Come  down  as  quickly  as  possible.  Take  your 
boots  off,  and  creep  into  my  study.  I  am  in  the  hands 
of  two  Burmese,  members  of  a  society  to  which  I  be- 
longed at  one  time.  They  have  come  to  have  my  life 
or  certain  information  that  I  decline  to  give  them. 
You  know  enough  of  the  East  to  be  able  to  appreciate 
my  danger." 

The  story  was  more  or  less  of  a  lie,  as  Berrington 
was  perfectly  well  aware,  but  there  was  a  large  amount 
of  truth  in  it,  nevertheless.  Berrington  smiled  to  him- 
self. 

"  There  is  one  little  hitch  in  the  programme,"  he 
said.  "  You  seem  to  forget  that  I  am  a  prisoner  here, 
behind  a  door  that  is  protected  by  steel." 

"  I  had  forgotten  that  for  the  moment,"  Sartoris 
proceeded  rapidly.  "  But  it  is  quite  possible  to  open 
the  door  from  the  inside,  if  you  know  the  secret.  Turn 
the  handle  four  times  to  the  right  quickly  and  firmly, 
and  then  three  times  to  the  left,  and  the  door  will  open. 
I  dare  not  say  any  more,  as  these  fellows  are  beginning 
to  look  at  me  suspiciously.  One  minute  more,  and  I 
have  finished.  There  is  an  old  Dutch  bureau  at  the 
top  of  the  stairs  by  your  door.  In  the  second  drawer 
on  the  right  is  a  loaded  revolver.  You  may  want  to 
use  it " 

The  voice  suddenly  ceased,  and  a  cry  of  pain  floated 
up  again.  All  the  old  fighting  spirit  raged  in  Berring- 
ton's  veins  now.  He  was  going  to  be  free,  he  would 
have  a  weapon  that  he  well  knew  how  to  use  in  his 


190  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

hands,  and  he  had  obtained  information  of  the  most 
valuable  kind.  With  his  hand  on  the  knob  of  the  door 
he  followed  directions.  Eour  times  to  the  right  and 
three  to  the  left!    A  pull,  and  the  door  came  open. 

Berrington  was  free  at  last.  As  soon  as  he  realised 
that  fact  his  professional  caution  came  back  to  him. 
He  kicked  off  his  boots,  and  finding  the  Webley  re- 
volver, loaded  in  all  chambers,  he  crept  like  a  cat  down 
the  stairs,  and  looked  into  the  study. 

Sartoris  lay  back  in  his  chair  with  his  hands  bound 
to  his  sides.  Round  his  head  the  two  strangers  had 
strung  a  piece  of  knotted  whipcord  which  one  of  them 
was  drawing  tighter  and  tighter  with  the  aid  of  a  pen- 
knife twisted  in  the  bandage.  The  face  of  the  victim 
was  ghastly  white,  his  eyes  rolled,  and  the  great  beads 
poured  down  his  cheeks.  Berrington  had  heard  of  that 
kind  of  torture  before.  His  blood  was  boiling  now,  not 
that  he  had  any  cause  for  sympathy  with  the  little  man 
in  the  chair. 

"  My  God,  I  can't  stand  this  much  longer,"  Sartoris 
moaned.  "  Will .  that  fellow  never  come !  Or  has  he 
failed  to  understand  my  instructions?  My  brain  is 
blazing.     Help,  help." 

Berrington  strode  into  the  room,  resolutely  but  softly. 
The  little  yellow  man  who  was  administering  the  tor- 
ture seemed  to  have  his  whole  heart  in  his  work;  he 
graduated  the  torture  to  a  nicety.  He  seemed  to  under- 
stand exactly  how  much  the  victim  could  stand  with- 
out losing  life  and  reason  altogether.  He  was  like  a 
doctor  with  an  interesting  patient. 

"  I  think  you  will  tell  me  where  to  find  what  we 
desire  ?  "  he  said  smoothly. 

"  And  then  we  can  depart  and  trouble  the  gentleman 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  191 

no  more,"  said  the  other  man,  who  was  looking  on  as 
coolly  as  if  at  some  landscape.  "Why  put  us  to  all 
this  trouble  ? "  dm        WL 

"  I  '11  tell  you,"  Sartoris  moaned.  "  If  you  will  look 
in  the  — > — i    God  be  praised !  " 

The  last  words  came  with  a  yell,  for  the  startled 
eyes  had  caught  sight  of  Berrington  standing  grimly 
in  the  background.  The  tatter's  left  hand  shot  out  and 
the  Burmese  who  held  the  penknife  in  the  cord  stag- 
gered across  the  room  from  the  force  of  a  blow  on  the 
temple,  which,  had  it  taken  full  effect,  would  have 
felled  him  like  an  ox. 

Before  he  could  recover  from  the  full  impact  of  the 
blow,  Berrington  was  on  the  other  man.  ^HTnen  the 
two  closed  on  him  as  he  backed  to  the  wall  and  raised 
his  revolver. 

"  You  see  that  I  am  too  many  for  you,"  he  said. 
"  Put  down  those  knives." 

For  two  long  cutting  knives  were  gleaming  in  the 
light  of  the  electrics.  Nothing  daunted,  the  pair  made 
a  rush  at  Berrington,  who  fired  right  and  left.  He 
had  no  intention  that  the  shots  should  be  fatal,  but 
they  both  took  effect,  one  in  the  shoulder  and  the  other 
in  the  arm.  When  the  smoke  cleared  away  Berrington 
and  Sartoris  were  alone.  A  cold  stream  of  air  pouring 
into  the  room  testified  to  the  fact  that  the  front  door 
had  not  been  closed  by  the  miscreants  in  their  escape. 
Berrington  cut  the  cord  around  the  victim's  head  and 
bathed  his  forehead  with  water.  A  little  brandy  seemed 
to  effect  something  in  the  way  of  a  cure. 

"  My  God,  that  was  awful,  awful,"  Sartoris  moaned. 
u  A  second  more  and  I  should  have  died.  Would  you 
mind  shutting  the  front  door?     The  cold  air  makes 


192  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

me  feel  like  death.  That 's  better.  I  dare  say  you 
wonder  what  those  fellows  were  doing  here  %  " 

There  was  just  a  touch  of  slyness  in  the  question. 
Eerrington  smiled  to  himself.  He  wondered  what  Sar- 
toris  would  say  if  he  only  knew  how  much  the  listener 
had  overheard. 

"  I  suppose  your  sins  are  finding  you  out,"  he  said. 
"  They  generally  do.  Personally,  I  have  no  curiosity 
on  the  subject  at  all.  And  I  have  not  the  slightest 
doubt  that  your  punishment,  though  pretty  severe,  was 
at  the  same  time  well  deserved.  And  now,  sir,  as  fate 
has  given  me  the  whip  hand  of  you,  have  you  any 
reason  to  urge  why  I  should  stay  in  this  house  any 
longer  ?  I  take  it  that  you  are  not  quite  in  a  position 
to  place  your  electric  battery  at  work  from  this  room 
as  you  did  from  the  other.     If  you  like  to " 

Berrington  paused,  as  there  was  a  loud  knocking  at 
the  door.  Sartoris's  pale  face  grew  still  paler  as  he 
listened.     Then  he  forced  a  smile  to  his  pallid  lips. 

'  Don't  take  any  heed,"  he  said  eagerly.  "  Let  them 
go  away  again  under  the  impression  that  nobody  is  at 
the  house.     Let  them  knock  all  night  if  they  like." 

But  Berrington  was  already  half-way  to  the  door. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

WITH  the  letter  to  Beatrice  safe  in  her  pocket, 
Mary  made  her  way  to  the  Royal  Palace  Hotel. 
She  had  her  own  idea  as  to  what  she  was  going  to  do, 
and  that  certainly  was  not  to  invite  Beatrice  to  go  to 
Wandsworth.  For  the  girl  had  a  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous task  before  her.  Rightly  or  wrongly,  it  seemed 
to  her  that  her  place  was  by  the  side  of  the  brother 
who  had  treated  her  so  badly.  Many  a  good  woman 
before  had  sacrificed  herself  to  a  scoundrel,  and  many 
a  good  woman  will  do  so  again.  Mary  had  always 
clung  to  the  idea  that  Sartoris  might  be  brought  back 
to  the  fold  again.  She  knew  pretty  well  how  far  he 
had  fallen,  but  she  did  not  quite  understand  the  deep 
depravity  of  the  man's  nature.  After  all,  he  was  an 
object  to  be  pitied ;  after  all,  he  had  been  the  victim  of 
a  woman's  cruelty,  or  so  Mary  thought.  But  Mary 
did  not  know  everything;  had  she  done  so  she  would 
have  been  forced  to  leave  her  brother  to  his  own  de- 
vices. 

She  came  at  length  to  the  Royal  Palace  Hotel,  and 
asked  for  Beatrice.  The  latter  was  in  her  room,  she 
was  told,  and  Mary  went  up.  But  Beatrice  was  not 
there,  her  place  for  the  time  being  occupied  by  Ade- 
line, the  maid. 

"  My  mistress  is  out,"  the  maid  explained ;  "  but  if 
you  will  leave  any  message  I  can  deliver  it.     She  will 
not  be  very  long,  in  any  case." 
13  193 


194  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Mary  hesitated.  She  had  many  things  to  do  and 
no  time  to  waste.  It  was  not  altogether  imperative 
that  she  should  see  Beatrice  just  at  the  moment.  She 
turned  the  matter  over  in  her  mind  before  she  replied 
to  Adeline's  suggestion. 

"  I  rather  wanted  to  see  your  mistress,"  she  said. 
"  Perhaps  I  may  make  it  convenient  to  return  in  about 
half  an  hour  or  so.  Meanwhile,  will  you  please  give 
her  this  letter.  Will  you  be  very  careful  to  say  that 
Mrs.  Richford  is  to  do  nothing  till  she  has  seen  me? 
I  mean  that  she  is  not  to  take  any  steps  in  the  matter 
of  the  letter  till  I  come  back.  Will  you  be  especially 
careful  about  that  ?  " 

Adeline  promised,  in  a  vague  kind  of  way.  She  did 
not  express  the  usual  curiosity  of  her  class;  her  mind 
seemed  to  be  elsewhere.  She  showed  Mary  out  with 
an  alacrity  that  would  have  aroused  her  suspicions  had 
she  had  less  to  occupy  her  mind.  But  Adeline  had 
affairs  of  her  own  to  think  of.  There  was  a  very 
striking-looking  valet  on  the  same  floor  who  had  shown 
himself  not  insensible  to  the  girl's  attractions.  Ade- 
line laid  the  note  on  the  table  and  promptly  forgot  all 
about  it. 

In  the  full  assurance  that  no  harm  was  possible  for 
the  present,  Mary  went  her  way.  It  was  getting  late 
in  the  evening  now,  and  the  hotel  was  full  of  people; 
a  strange  excitement  seemed  to  be  in  the  air;  outside, 
the  newsboys  were  particularly  busy,  and  there  seemed 
to  be  a  more  than  usually  heavy  run  on  their  wares. 

Surely  they  were  shouting  a  familiar  name,  Mary 
thought.  She  came  out  of  her  brown  study  and  lis- 
tened.    It  was  something  to  do  with  Stephen  Richford. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  195 

Surely  there  could  not  be  two  men  of  the  same  name. 
No ;  it  must  be  the  same. 

"  Startling  disclosures  in  the  City.  Collapse  of  a 
great  firm.  Richford  &  Co.  go  down.  Warrant  out 
for  the  arrest  of  the  senior  partner.  Flight  of  Stephen 
Richford." 

Mary  listened  in  amazement.  Her  brother  knew  a 
great  deal  about  this  man;  he  had  always  been  spoken 
of  as  a  wealthy  individual.  And  here  was  Beatrice 
Darryll's  husband  a  criminal  and  a  fugitive  from  jus- 
tice. Nobody  appeared  to  be  talking  about  anything 
else;  the  name  was  on  the  streets.  Mary  could  hear  it 
everywhere.  A  bent  man,  with  a  clerical  hat  and 
glasses  and  an  Inverness  cape,  hurried  by  the  girl  as 
she  came  out  of  the  hotel.  Even  this  elderly  gentleman 
seemed  interested. 

He  pushed  his  way  into  the  hotel  and  feebly  ascend- 
ed the  stairs  as  if  he  had  business  there.  In  so  large 
a  place  every  respectably  dressed  man  could  pass  in 
and  out  without  incurring  suspicion.  No  hall  porter 
would  stop  any  visitor  and  ask  his  business,  so  that 
the  elderly  clergyman  passed  unchallenged.  As  he 
came  to  the  door  of  Beatrice's  room  he  hesitated  for  a 
moment,  and  then  passed  in  and  closed  the  door  behind 
him. 

"  Nobody  here !  "  he  muttered.  "  Maid  gone  off  on 
her  own  business,  I  suppose.  Well,  I  can  sit  down 
here  and  wait  till  Beatrice  comes  back.  What 's  this  ? 
A  letter  addressed  by  some  unknown  correspondent  to 
Mrs.  Richford.  By  Jove !  Sartoris's  address  on  the 
flap.  Now,  what  does  this  little  game  mean  ?  And 
who  wrote  the  letter  ?  My  dear  Sartoris,  if  I  only  had 
you  here  for  the  next  five  minutes !  " 


196  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

The  man's  face  suddenly  convulsed  with  rage,  his 
fists  were  clenched  passionately.  He  paced  up  and 
down  the  room  with  the  letter  in  his  hand. 

"  This  may  tell  me  something,"  he  said ;  "  this  may 
be  a  clue.     I  '11  open  it." 

As  frequently  happens  with  thick  envelopes,  the  gum 
was  defective,  and  the  back  of  a  penknife  served  to 
open  the  cover  without  in  any  way  betraying  the  fact 
that  the  cover  had  been  tampered  with.  A  puzzled 
frown  crossed  the  face  of  the  thief. 

"  Berrington !  "  he  muttered ;  "  Berrington !  Oh,  I 
know.  That  beast,  eh  ?  Now  considering  that  he  is 
more  or  less  of  a  prisoner  in  the  house  of  my  dear 
friend  Sartoris,  why  does  he  write  like  this  to  Beatrice  ? 
Damn  Sartoris;  there  is  no  getting  to  the  bottom  of 
him,  with  his  wily  brain.  On  the  whole  Beatrice  shall 
be  allowed  to  go.  It 's  a  horrible  position  for  a  girl 
like  her ;  but  at  the  present  moment  I  have  no  choice  — 
perhaps  I  '11  join  the  party  later  on.  Hang  those  news- 
boys, too  — '  why  can't  they  stop  their  silly  clatter  ?  " 

The  intruder  replaced  the  letter,  and  a  moment  later 
Beatrice  came  in.  She  started  at  the  sight  of  the 
stranger,  who  made  some  apology  for  the  intrusion. 
The  man  looked  old  and  respectable  and  harmless,  so 
that  the  girl  smiled  at  him.  But  she  did  not  smile 
when  the  shovel  hat  was  removed,  together  with  the 
wig  and  the  glasses. 

"  Stephen  !  "  Beatrice  gasped.  "  What  is  the  mean- 
ing of  this  ? " 

"  Well,  I  can  conclude  that  my  disguise  is  a  pretty 
good  one,"  Richford  grinned,  "  seeing  that  you  did  not 
recognize  me  at  all.     And  as  to  what  this  means,  I 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  197 

should  say  that  your  own  common  sense  would  tell  you. 
Did  you  hear  anything  %  " 

"  I  heard  the  boys  with  the  papers,"  Beatrice  said ; 
"  but  I  did  not  connect  ...  do  you  mean  to  say 
that  you  are,  you  are " 

Beatrice  could  not  say  the  word.  But  there  was  no 
reason  for  her  to  ask  the  question. 

"  Why  be  so  delicate  about  it  in  the  presence  of  a 
mere  husband  ?  "  Richford  sneered.  "  Do  you  suppose 
I  came  here  in  disguise  just  to  give  you  a  pleasant 
surprise  ?  The  bubble  has  been  pricked,  and  all  the 
rest  of  it.  I  went  for  too  much,  and  I  failed,  as  many 
a  better  man  has  failed  before  me.  I  have  Carl  Sar- 
toris  to  thank  for  this;  I  should  have  pulled  through 
but  for  him.  This  is  his  revenge  because  I  would  not 
do  as  he  desired.  Whatever  you  do,  beware  of  that 
man !     Don't  go  near  him  under  any  circumstances." 

"  I  am  not  likely  to  go  near  him,"  Beatrice  said 
coldly ;  "  but  tell  me,  why  did  you  come  here  ?  It  is 
not  possible  that  I  can  help  you  in  any  way !  " 

"  Oh,  yes  it  is,"  Richford  said,  with  a  certain  good 
humour  that  caused  Beatrice  to  turn  suspicious  at 
once.  "  You  can  do  a  great  deal  for  me  if  you  only 
will.  I  am  going  to  leave  you  a  desolate  and  discon- 
solate widow.  A  grass  widow,  if  you  like;  but  you 
will  have  your  freedom.  I  am  going  to  leave  my  coun- 
try for  my  country's  good;  I  shall  never  come  back 
again.  But  the  crash  has  come  at  a  time  when  I  least 
expected  it,  which  is  a  habit  that  crashes  have.  I  had 
barely  time  to  procure  this  disguise  before  the  wolves 
were  after  me.  They  are  hot  on  my  track  now,  and  I 
have  no  time  to  spare.     What  I  come  for  is  money." 

"  Money !     Surely  you  made  a  sorry  mistake  then !  " 


198  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Oh,  no ;  I  'm  not  asking  for  cash,  seeing  that  you 
have  practically  none  of  your  own.  As  you  refuse  to 
consider  yourself  my  wife,  in  future  you  must  also 
decline  to  take  anything  from  me.  Therefore  those 
diamonds  are  not  your  property.  If  you  will  hand 
them  over  to  me,  we  will  shake  hands  and  part  for 
ever." 

Beatrice  drew  a  long  deep  breath  of  something  like 
relief.  It  was  good  to  know  that  this  man  was  going 
to  rid  her  of  his  hateful  presence  for  ever,  but  this  was 
too  big  a  price  to  pay  for  her  freedom. 

"  Let  us  quite  understand  one  another,"  she  said. 
"  Your  business  is  ruined ;  there  is  nothing  left.  What 
about  your  creditors,  the  people  who  trusted  you  ?  " 

"  Burn  and  blister  my  creditors,"  Richford  burst 
out  furiously.  "  What  do  they  matter  ?  Of  course 
the  fools  who  trusted  me  with  their  money  will  cry 
out.  But  they  only  trusted  it  with  me,  because  they 
thought  that  I  was  slaving  and  scheming  to  pay  them 
big  dividends.  It  will  not  be  the  welfare  of  my  cred- 
itors that  keeps  me  awake  at  night." 

"  Always  cold  and  callous  and  indifferent  to  the 
feelings  of  others,"  Beatrice  said.  "  Not  even  one 
single  thought  for  the  poor  people  that  you  have  ruined. 
What  are  those  diamonds  worth  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  gave  £40,000  for  them.  I  dare  say  I  can 
get,  say  £30,000  for  them.  But  we  are  wasting  time 
in  idle  discourse  like  this." 

"  Indeed,  we  are,"  Beatrice  said  coldly.  "  So  you 
think  that  in  the  face  of  what  you  have  just  told  me, 
I  am  going  to  hand  those  stones  over  to  you !  Nothing 
of  the  kind.  I  shall  keep  them  in  trust  for  your  cred- 
itors.    When  the  right  time  comes  I  shall  hand  them 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  199 

over  to  the  proper  authorities.  Nothing  will  turn  me 
from  my  decision." 

A  snarling  oath  burst  from  Richford's  lips.  He 
stretched  out  his  hand  as  if  he  would  have  fain  taken 
Beatrice  by  the  throat  and  strangled  her. 

"  Don't  fool  with  me,"  he  said  hoarsely ;  "  don't  play 
with  me,  or  I  may  forget  myself.  Give  me  those  dia- 
monds if  you  have  any  respect  for  your  skin." 

But  Beatrice  made  not  the  slightest  attempt  to  move. 
Her  face  had  grown  very  pale,  still  she  was  quite  reso- 
lute. 

"  If  you  think  to  frighten  me  by  threats,  you  are 
merely  wasting  your  time,"  she  said  coldly.  "  The 
stones  are  in  safe  keeping,  and  there  they  remain  till 
I  can  give  them  to  your  trustees." 

"  But  I  am  powerless,"  Richford  said.  "  How  am 
I  to  get  away?  In  a  few  hours  all  my  resources  will 
be  exhausted,  and  I  shall  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
police.  And  a  nice  thing  that  would  be.  Your  hus- 
band a  felon,  with  a  long  term  of  imprisonment  before 
him!" 

"  I  see  no  dissimilarity,"  Beatrice  said,  "  between 
the  deed  and  the  punishment  that  fits  it.  After  all  I 
have  gone  through,  a  little  thing  like  that  would  make 
no  difference  to  me." 

"  Then  you  are  not  going  to  part  with  those  dia- 
monds ? " 

Beatrice  shook  her  head.  Richford  stood  before  her 
with  one  of  his  hands  on  her  arm  and  his  other  about 
her  white  slender  throat.  There  was  a  murderous  look 
on  his  face,  but  the  eyes  that  Beatrice  turned  upon  him 
did  not  for  a  moment  droop.     Then  Richford  pushed 


200  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

the  girl  away  brutally  from  him  and  walked  as  far 
as  the  door. 

"  You  don't  want  for  pluck,"  he  growled.  "  I  be- 
lieve that  if  you  had  flinched  just  now  I  should  have 
killed  you.  And  I  was  going  to  save  you  from  a  dan- 
ger. I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  Go  your  own 
way,  and  I  will  go  mine." 

Bichford  glanced  at  the  letter  on  the  table,  then  he 
passed  out,  banging  the  door  behind  him.  In  the  foyer 
of  the  hotel  he  sat  down  as  if  waiting  for  somebody. 
In  reality  he  was  trying  to  collect  his  scattered 
thoughts.  But  it  was  hard  work  in  that  chattering, 
laughing  mob,  with  his  own  name  on  the  lips  of  a 
hundred  people  there. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  venerable-looking  old  cleric  sat  there  for  the 
better  part  of  an  hour  in  the  patient  attitude  of 
one  who  waits  for  a  friend,  but  though  he  puzzled  his 
cunning  brain  he  could  see  no  way  out  of  the  difficulty. 
He  had  no  money,  and  the  police  were  after  him.  He 
recognised  only  too  well  that  he  had  to  thank  Sartoris 
for  this  —  he  had  measured  his  cunning  against  that 
of  the  little  cripple,  and  he  had  failed.  He  had  played 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  stake  that  was  at  the  bottom 
of  the  mystery,  and  he  had  paid  the  penalty.  Bitterly 
he  regretted  his  folly  now. 

Presently,  his  humming  brain  began  to  clear.  He 
saw  one  or  two  people  there  whom  he  knew;  he  saw 
Beatrice  come  down  to  the  office  and  go  out  presently, 
with  a  little  flat  case  under  her  arm.  Richford's  eyes 
gleamed,  and  a  glow  of  inspiration  thrilled  him. 

"  As  sure  as  fate  she  has  the  diamonds,"  he  told 
himself.  "  She  is  afraid  that  I  should  hit  upon  some 
scheme  for  getting  them,  and  she  is  going  to  dispose  of 
them  in  some  hiding-place.  I  '11  follow  her.  Courage, 
my  boy  —  the  game  is  not  up  yet." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Richford  had  summed  up  the 
situation  correctly.  In  some  vague  way  Beatrice  was 
a  little  alarmed.  She  had  heard  of  such  things  as  in- 
junctions and  the  like.  Suppose  the  law  stepped  in  to 
protect  the  rogue,  as  the  law  does  sometimes.  And 
Beatrice  had  something  else  to  do,  for  she  had  read 

201 


202  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Berrington's  letter,  and  she  had  made  up  her  mind  to 
go  to  Wandsworth  without  delay.  But  first  of  all  she 
would  walk  as  far  as  the  old  family  jewellers  in  Bond 
Street  and  deposit  the  stones  there.  She  had  every 
faith  in  the  head  of  the  firm,  whom  the  family  had 
dealt  with  for  so  many  years. 

No  sooner  had  Beatrice  stepped  out  of  the  hotel  than 
Mary  Sartoris  came  back.  She  proceeded  quietly  up 
the  stairs  to  find  Adeline  alone  in  the  room  of  her 
mistress.  The  girl  blushed  as  Mary  put  the  question 
that  rose  naturally  to  her  lips. 

"  I  'm  very  sorry,  miss,"  the  girl  stammered ;  "  but 
I  forgot  all  about  your  message  and  the  letter.  I  left 
the  letter  on  the  table,  and  my  mistress  has  just  gone 
out." 

"  Did  she  get  the  letter  before  she  went  ? "  Mary 
asked  quickly. 

"  Well,  yes,  I  suppose  so,  miss,"  was  the  reply,  "  see- 
ing that  the  letter  is  no  longer  on  the  table.  I  suppose 
that  my  mistress  has  got  it.  She  must  have  done  so, 
for  the  envelope  is  in  the  grate." 

Sure  enough,  the  envelope  with  the  forged  hand- 
writing of  Berrington  upon  it  lay  in  the  grate.  Mary 
was  too  mortified  to  speak  for  the  moment,  besides 
there  was  no  occasion  to  tell  the  maid  anything. 

"  I  'm  sorry  you  were  so  careless,"  she  said.  "  Did 
your  mistress  go  out  alone  ?  " 

"  I  believe  so,"  the  contrite  Adeline  said.  "  She 
had  a  visitor,  an  old  clergyman  who " 

But  Mary  was  not  listening,  she  was  only  thinking 
of  Beatrice's  danger.  At  the  same  time  she  had  a  clear 
recollection  of  the  old  clergyman,  for  he  had  pushed 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  203 

past  her  into  the  hotel  at  the  moment  when  she  was 
leaving  the  building  for  the  first  time. 

She  went  out  into  the  street  which  was  dark  by  this 
time.  She  would  take  a  cab  to  Wandsworth  at  once 
and  get  there  before  Beatrice  came.  But  there  was  no 
cab  in  sight,  so  that  Mary  had  to  walk  some  little  way. 
At  the  corner  of  the  road  she  stopped  and  hesitated  for 
a  moment.  Close  by  stood  the  well-dressed  couple  who 
had  imposed  themselves  upon  Beatrice  under  the  guise 
of  Countess  de  la  Moray  and  General  Gastang. 

Whatever  were  they  doing  here,  just  now,  Mary  won- 
dred?  Just  for  the  moment  it  flashed  across  her 
mind  that  they  were  prying  upon  her  movements.  But 
another  idea  occurred  to  her,  as  the  two  were  accosted 
by  the  old  clergyman  that  Mary  had  seen  before,  and 
who  had  been  a  visitor  to  Beatrice  Bichford  such  a 
little  time  previously. 

She  saw  the  man  raise  his  hat  politely  at  some 
question  from  the  clergyman,  then  she  saw  his  face 
change  to  a  startled  expression,  and  instantly  Mary 
understood. 

"  I  know  who  it  is,"  she  said  half  aloud.  "  It  is 
Stephen  Bichford  in  disguise.  He  has  been  to  see  his 
wife.  I  should  like  to  know  what  they  are  talking 
about" 

The  trio  were  talking  very  earnestly  indeed  now. 
Just  for  the  moment  it  had  looked  as  if  the  man  called 
Reggie  and  the  woman  called  Cora  had  decided  to  give 
Richford  the  cold  shoulder.  But  he  had  said  a  few 
words,  and  the  scene  was  suddenly  changed.  The  three 
walked  off  together  and  turned  into  a  small  restaurant 
a  little  way  down  the  street. 

Moved  by  a  feeling  which  she  would  have  had  some 


204  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

trouble  to  explain,  Mary  followed.  In  some  vague  way 
she  felt  that  Beatrice  was  in  danger.  The  restaurant 
was  by  no  means  a  fashionable  one,  and  few  people 
were  there.  Mary  noticed,  too,  that  the  inside  was 
divided  into  compartments  in  the  old-fashioned  way. 
She  stepped  into  the  box  next  the  one  where  the  three 
conspirators  were  seated  and  ordered  a  cup  of  tea.  It 
was  a  satisfaction  to  the  girl  to  know  that  she  could 
hear  all  that  was  being  said  in  the  other  box.  She 
heard  the  popping  of  a  champagne  cork,  speedily  fol- 
lowed by  another.  She  had  only  to  sit  there  and  listen. 
She  had  forgotten  all  about  Beatrice  by  this  time. 

"  Wine  like  that  puts  life  into  a  man,"  she  heard 
Richford  say. 

"  And  gives  him  a  tongue  too,"  the  man  called  Reg- 
gie laughed.  "  Deadly  expensive  stuff  unless  you  can 
see  some  reasonable  return  for  your  outlay  in  the  near 
future.  Come,  Richford,  we  are  both  eager  to  know 
how  you  propose  to  put  money  into  our  pockets." 

"  And  yet  I  can  put  a  lot,"  Richford  said.  "  Oh, 
you  need  not  be  afraid  of  that  crooked  little  devil  at 
Wandsworth,  for  he  shall  not  know  anything  about  it. 
What  do  you  say  to  £10,000  apiece  and  nobody  any 
the  wiser  ?     Doesn't  that  make  your  mouth  water  ?  " 

"  It  would  if  you  could  show  me  the  way,"  Reggie 
said.  "  But  in  the  most  delicate  way  possible,  my 
dear  Richford,  let  me  put  it  to  you  —  that  you  are 
under  a  cloud  at  present.  And  why  do  you  offer  to 
divide  the  plunder  in  this  very  irrational  way  ? " 

"  Simply  because  I  am  under  a  cloud,"  Richford 
growled.  "  I  'm  powerless  and  desperate.  I  don't  even 
know  where  to  turn  for  a  night's  lodging.  Now  look 
here,  the  matter  may  take  a  day  or  two,  and  in  the 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  205 

meantime  I  've  got  to  put  up  somewhere.  And  as  a 
warrant  of  my  good  faith,  I  'm  not  going  to  ask  you 
for  any  money.  All  I  require  is  food  and  a  bed  and 
shelter,  and  that  you  may  very  well  give  me  at  Edward 
Street.     Sartoris  never  goes  there." 

"  Make  it  worth  while  and  the  thing  's  done,"  Reg- 
gie said.     "  Give  it  a  name." 

"  Well,  suppose  we  call  it  diamonds  ? "  Richford 
suggested.  "  Have  you  forgotten  those  magnificent  dia- 
monds that  I  gave  my  wife,  bless  her,  for  a  wedding 
present  ? " 

A  little  gasp  came  from  the  listeners.  It  was  evi- 
dent to  Richford  that  he  had  struck  the  right  chord, 
for  he  proceeded  with  more  confidence. 

"  I  gave  my  dear  wife  stones  worth  nearly,  if  not 
quite,  £40,000,"  he  said.  "I  didn't  hand  over  that 
little  lot  altogether  out  of  disinterested  affection.  A 
man  who  takes  risks,  as  I  do,  is  pretty  sure  to  come  up 
against  a  financial  crisis  sooner  or  later,  only  it  has 
been  sooner  in  this  case.  Though  my  wife  chose  to 
ignore  me,  I  left  the  stones  in  her  possession  because, 
being  my  wife,  no  creditor  could  lay  hands  upon  those 
gems.  I  went  to  her  to-day  and  asked  for  them.  Of 
course  I  did  not  anticipate  any  difficulty  whatever; 
I  expected  that  she  would  cock  that  imperially  haughty 
nose  of  hers  in  the  air  and  hand  them  over  to  me  as  if 
I  were  dirt  beneath  her  feet.  To  my  astonishment  she 
utterly  refused  to  do  anything  of  the  kind." 

"  Unkind,"  the  woman  Cora  laughed ;  "  and  yet  so 
like  a  modern  wife.     Had  she  pawned  them  ?  " 

"  Not  she !  I  was  fool  enough  to  say  something  that 
was  not  quite  complimentary  of  my  creditors,  and  she 
refused  to  part  with  the  stones  anyhow.     Said  that 


206  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

they  would  go  to  pay  my  debts.  I  threatened  violence 
and  all  kinds  of  things,  but  it  was  no  good.  I  said 
that  unless  I  had  money  in  forty-eight  hours  I  should 
be  in  jail,  but  it  was  all  to  no  effect.  Did  you  ever 
hear  anything  so  maddening  in  all  your  life  ? " 

"  You  have  my  deepest  sympathy,"  Reggie  said ; 
"  but  you  did  not  bring  us  here  to  listen  to  a  story 
that  has  no  point  to  it  like  yours.  You  have  got  some 
scheme  in  your  head  for  getting  hold  of  the  stones. 
But  you  can't  do  it  alone." 

"  If  I  could  should  I  be  such  a  cursed  fool  as  to 
bring  you  two  in  ?  "  Richford  growled.  "  But  I  —  but 
I  can't  appear.  All  I  can  do  is  to  show  you  the  way 
and  trust  to  your  honour  to  give  me  a  third  of  the  plun- 
der when  it  is  turned  into  cash." 

"  Hadn't  you  better  get  to  the  point  ? "  Reggie  sug- 
gested with  undisguised  eagerness. 

"  I  'm  coming  to  that.  After  my  interview  with  my 
wife  I  sat  in  the  hall  trying  to  pull  myself  together. 
Presently  I  saw  her  ladyship  come  down  and  go  to  the 
office.  Those  diamonds  had  been  deposited  in  the 
hotel  safe  for  obvious  reasons.  My  wife  came  out  of 
the  office  presently  with  the  case  in  her  hand.  Then  I 
recognized  what  had  happened.  She  was  afraid  of 
some  move  of  mine,  and  she  was  going  to  deposit  the 
stones  elsewhere.  It  did  not  take  me  long  to  make  up 
my  mind  where  she  was  going.  She  was  about  to  take 
the  plunder  to  Hilton  in  Bond  Street." 

"  How  long  ago  ? "  the  woman  called  Cora  asked 
eagerly.     "  This  is  important." 

"  Well,  not  more  than  an  hour,  anyway,"  Richford 
replied.     "  Why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

"  Because  Hilton  closes  at  five,"  the  woman  said. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  207 

"  I  know  that,  because  the  firm  has  done  several  little 
jobs  for  me  lately.  You  may  be  pretty  sure  that  your 
wife  did  not  deposit  those  stones  at  Hilton's  to-day; 
therefore  she  still  has  them  in  her  pocket.  That  being 
so,  what  we  have  to  do  now  is  to  discover  where  she 
has  gone.  If  you  like  I  '11  go  round  to  the  Royal  Pal- 
ace Hotel  at  once  and  see  if  she  has  returned.  I  '11 
ask  the  clerk  in  the  office,  and  if  he  says  she  has  re- 
turned, you  may  safely  bet  that  those  stones  are  back 
in  the  hotel  safe  again.  If  she  has  not  returned,  they 
are  still  on  her  person." 

"  It 's  just  as  well  to  make  sure,"  Reggie  said  re- 
flectively. 

The  woman  flitted  away  and  came  back  soon  with  a 
smile  on  her  face. 

"  So  far,  so  good,"  she  said.  "  The  lady  has  not 
returned  to  the  hotel.  Now,  Mr.  Richford,  if  you  can 
only  put  us  on  the  track  of  the  timid  little  hare, 
then " 

"  Done  with  the  greatest  possible  ease,"  Richford 
replied.  "  She's  gone  to  Wandsworth.  I  can't  make 
the  thing  out  at  all,  and  in  any  case  it  does  not  in  the 
least  matter.  When  I  was  waiting  for  my  wife  just 
now  I  saw  a  letter  to  her  from  Berrington,  —  Colonel 
Berrington.  As  you  know,  he  is  a  prisoner  in  Audley 
Place,  and  why  he  should  have  written  that  letter,  or 
how  Sartoris  persuaded  the  warrior  to  write  it,  I  don't 
know  any  more  than  Adam.  But  that 's  where  she  has 
gone.  If  you  can  intercept  her  before  she  gets  there, 
or  waylay  her  when  she  leaves,  why  there  you  are.  I 
don't  suppose  my  wife  will  tell  Sartoris  that  she  has 
all  that  stuff  in  her  pocket." 

"  Do  you  think  that  she  took  a  cab  ?  "  Reggie  asked. 


208  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  I  should  say  not.  Cabs  cost  money,  and  Beatrice 
has  not  much  of  that.  Wandsworth  is  not  a  place  you 
can  get  to  in  ten  minutes,  especially  after  the  business 
trains  have  ceased  running  for  the  evening;  so  that  if 
you  took  a  cab " 

Reggie  jumped  to  his  feet  excitedly. 

"  No  use  wasting  time  here,"  he  said.  "  Come 
along,  Cora.  I  '11  just  scribble  a  few  lines  on  one  of 
my  cards,  so  that  you  can  be  safe  at  Edward  Street. 
There  you  are.  And  if  I  don't  get  those  stones  before 
bedtime,  why  I  'm  a  bigger  fool  than  the  police  take 
me  for." 

Thrilling  with  excitement,  Mary  followed  the  others 
into  the  street.  She  saw  the  two  get  into  a  cab,  and 
she  proceeded  to  take  one  herself.  The  cabman  looked 
at  her  dubiously  as  he  asked  where  he  was  to  go  to. 

"  No.  100,  Audley  Place,  Wandsworth  Common," 
Mary  said.  "  If  you  get  there  ten  minutes  before  the 
cab  in  front,  1 11  give  you  an  extra  half-sovereign." 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

MEANWHILE  the  fates  were  working  in  another 
direction.  Field  had  stumbled,  more  or  less 
by  accident,  upon  a  startling  discovery.  He  had,  it 
will  be  remembered,  called  upon  the  little  actress  to 
whom  he  had  rendered  so  signal  a  service  on  the  night 
of  the  theatre  panic,  and  whom  in  the  heat  and  confu- 
sion of  the  moment  he  had  failed  to  recognize,  but  now 
he  knew  that  he  was  face  to  face  with  the  lady  whom 
he  had  seen  with  Sartoris  at  Audley  Place. 

Field  was  not  often  astonished,  but  he  gave  full  rein 
to  that  emotion  now.  For  he  had  made  more  than  one 
discovery  at  the  same  time.  In  the  first  place  he  had 
found  Miss  Violet  Decie,  Sir  Charles  Darryll's  ward, 
who  proved  at  the  same  time  to  be  the  actress  known 
as  Adela  Vane.  But  that  was  a  minor  discovery  com- 
pared to  the  rest.  Here  was  the  girl  who  at  one  time 
had  been  engaged  to  Carl  Sartoris,  and  who  was  sup- 
posed to  be  connected  more  or  less  with  his  misfor- 
tunes. 

Here  was  the  girl,  too,  who  might  be  in  a  position 
to  supply  the  key  to  the  mystery.  Undoubtedly,  the 
backbone  of  the  whole  thing  was  the  desire  for  money. 
Sir  Charles  Darryll  and  his  friend  Lord  Edward  Decie 
had  been  engaged  in  some  adventurous  speculation  to- 
gether in  Burmah.  They  had  doubtless  deemed  that 
speculation  to  be  worthless,  but  Carl  Sartoris  had  found 
that  they  were  mistaken.  Therefore,  trusting  to  his 
14  209 


# 


210  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

changed  appearance  and  his  disguise,  he  had  asked  his 
old  sweetheart  to  call  upon  him.  The  conversation 
that  Eield  nad  overheard  in  the  conservatory  was  go- 
ing to  be  useful. 

The  curious  questioning  look  in  the  girl's  eyes  re- 
called Eield  to  himself.  He  had  instantly  to  make  up 
his  mind  as  to  his  line  of  action.  Miss  Decie,  to  give 
her  her  proper  name,  gave  the  inspector  a  little  time  to 
decide  what  to  do. 

"  How  can  I  ever  sufficiently  thank  you  I  "  she  asked. 
"  Really,  I  could  not  sleep  all  night  for  thinking  about 
the  horror  of  the  thing  and  your  brave  action.  It  was 
splendid !  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  Field  said  modestly.  "  I  am  accus- 
tomed to  danger.  You  see  I  am  a  police  officer,  a  de- 
tective inspector  from  Scotland  Yard.  It  is  a  little 
strange  that  I  should  have  been  able  to  do  you  a  serv- 
ice, seeing  that  I  came  to  the  theatre  on  purpose  to  see 
you." 

The  girl's  eyes  opened  a  little  wider,  but  she  said 
nothing. 

"  Perhaps  I  had  better  be  quite  candid,"  Eield  went 
on.    "  I  want  you  to  help  me  if  you  can." 

"  Most  assuredly.  After  last  night,  I  will  do  any- 
thing you  like.     Pray  go  on." 

"  Thank  you  very  much,"  Eield  replied.  "  It  is 
very  good  of  you  to  make  my  task  easier.  You  see  I 
am  closely  connected  with  the  inquiry  into  the  sudden 
death  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll  and  the  subsequent  start- 
ling disappearance  of  his  body.  Were  not  your  father 
and  Sir  Charles  great  friends  in  India  long  ago  ?  Do 
you  recollect  that  ?  " 

The  girl  nodded;  her  eyes  were  dilated  with  curios- 


* 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  211 

ity.  Eield  could  not  find  it  in  his  heart  to  believe  that 
she  was  a  bad  girl. 

"  They  had  adventures  together,"  she  said.  "  They 
were  going  to  make  a  fortune  over  some  mine  or  some- 
thing of  that  kind.     But  it  never  came  to  anything." 

"  You  are  absolutely  sure  of  that  ? "  Eield  asked. 

"  Well,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  thing  came  to  nothing. 
Some  man  was  employed  to  make  certain  investiga- 
tions, and  he  reported  badly  of  the  scheme.  I  only 
heard  all  this  talk  as  a  child,  and  I  was  not  particu- 
larly interested.  You  see,  I  knew  very  little  of  Sir 
Charles,  though  he  was  my  guardian.  There  were  cer- 
tain papers  that  he  deposited  with  a  solicitor  who  used 
to  get  him  out  of  messes  from  time  to  time,  but  really 
I  am  as  ignorant  as  you  are." 

"  You  don't  even  know  the  name  of  the  solicitor  ? " 
Eield  asked. 

"  I  do  now,"  the  girl  said.  "  I  found  it  among 
some  letters.  Do  you  know  that  a  Mr.  Sartoris,  who 
claims  to  know  my  father  and  Sir  Charles,  also  wrote 
me  on  the  same  matter?  He  asked  me  to  go  and  see 
him  at  Wandsworth.  He  is  a  crippled  gentleman,  and 
very  nice.  He  has  a  lovely  conservatory-room  full  of 
flowers.  I  was  at  his  house  only  last  night,  and  he 
talked  to  me  very  much  the  same  way  as  you  are  do- 
ing." 

"  I  know  that,"  Field  said  calmly.  "  I  was  hiding 
in  the  conservatory  and  listened." 

Miss  Decie  gave  a  little  cry  of  astonishment. 

"  Our  profession  leads  us  into  strange  places,"  Field 
said.  "  I  heard  all  that  conversation,  so  there  is  no 
occasion  to  ask  you  to  repeat  it.  You  will  recollect 
saying  that  Mr.   Sartoris  reminded  you  of  somebody 


212  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

that  you  knew  years  ago  in  India.  Have  you  made 
up  your  mind  who  the  gentleman  in  question  does  re- 
semble ? " 

The  girl's  face  grew  white?  and  then  the  red  blood 
flamed  into  her  cheeks  ago. 

"  I  have  a  fancy,"  she  said.  "  But  are  not  these  idle 
questions  ? " 

"  I  assure  you  that  they  are  vital  to  this  strange  in- 
vestigation," Field  said  earnestly. 

"  Then  I  had  better  confess  to  you  that  Mr.  Sartoris 
reminded  me  of  a  gentleman  to  whom  I  was  once  en- 
gaged in  India;  I  was  greatly  deceived  in  the  man  to 
whom  I  was  engaged ;  indeed  it  was  a  tragic  time  alto- 
gether.    I  don't  like  to  speak  of  it." 

"  Loth  as  I  am  to  give  you  pain,  I  must  proceed," 
Field  said.  "  Was  the  gentleman  you  speak  of  known 
as  a  Mr.  Carl  Grey,  by  any  chance." 

"  Yes,  that  was  the  name.  I  see  you  know  a  great 
deal  more  than  I  anticipated.  I  suppose  you  have  been 
making  investigations.  But  I  cannot  possibly  see 
what  — " 

"  What  this  has  to  do  with  the  death  of  Sir  Charles 
Darryll?  My  dear  young  lady,  this  is  a  very  compli- 
cated case;  at  least  it  looks  like  one  at  present,  and  its 
ramifications  go  a  long  way.  I  want  to  know  all  you 
can  tell  me  about  Carl  Grey." 

"  I  can  tell  you  nothing  that  is  good,"  the  girl  said. 
She  had  risen  from  the  chair  and  was  pacing  up  and 
down  the  room  in  a  state  of  considerable  agitation. 
"  There  was  a  tragedy  behind  it  all.  I  don't  think  that 
I  really  and  truly  ioved  Carl  Grey;  I  fancy  that  he 
fascinated  me.  There  was  another  man  that  I  cared 
more  for.    He  died  trying  to  save  my  life." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  213 

Field  nodded  encouragement;  a  good  deal  of  this  he 
knew  already. 

"  Let  me  make  it  easy  for  you  if  I  can,"  he  said. 
"  I  have  found  out  a  great  deal  from  a  little  conversa- 
tion, part  of  which  I  overheard  between  Colonel  Ber- 
rington  and  Miss  Mary  Grey,  or  Miss  Mary  Sartoris, 
which  you  like.  There  was  a  mysterious  affair,  but  it 
resulted  in  the  death  or  disappearance  of  the  other 
man  and  the  permanent  crippling  of  Carl  Grey.  Am  I 
misinformed,  or  is  this  practically  the  case  ? " 

"  I  cannot  see  what  this  has  to  do  with  Sir  Charles 
Darryll,"  Violet  Decie  said  slowly. 

"  Pardon  me,  but  it  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the 
case,"  Field  replied.  '  If  you  knew  all  that  I  do  you 
would  not  hesitate  for  a  moment.  If  you  care  to  write 
it  down " 

The  girl  stopped  in  her  restless  walk;  her  eyes  were 
heavy  with  tears. 

"  I  '11  tell  you,"  she  said.  "  I  must  not  forget  that  I 
owe  my  life  to  your  bravery.  As  I  said  before,  I  was 
engaged  to  Carl  Grey.  But  for  his  sister  I  don't  think 
that  I  should  ever  have  consented.  But  there  it  was, 
and  I  loved  another  man  at  the  time.  And  the  other 
man  loved  me.  There  was  a  deal  of  jealousy  between 
the  two,  and  I  was  frightened.  Carl  Grey  was  always 
queer  and  mysterious ;  he  was  ever  seeking  to  penetrate 
the  mysteries  of  the  East.  Strange  men  would  come 
to  his  bungalow  late  at  night,  and  I  heard  of  weird 
orgies  there.  But  I  did  not  see  anything  of  this  till 
one  day  when  I  was  riding  on  the  hills  with  Mr.  Grey. 
We  had  a  kind  of  quarrel  on  the  way,  and  he  was  very 
difficult  that  day.  We  came  presently  to  a  kind  of 
temple  in  ruins,   which   we   explored.     There   was    a 


214  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

vault  underneath,  and  Mr.  Grey  pressed  me  to  enter. 
It  all  seems  like  a  dream  now;  but  there  were  natives 
there  and  some  kind  of  ceremony  progressing.  The  air 
of  the  place  seemed  to  intoxicate  me;  I  seemed  to  be 
dragged  into  the  ceremony,  Mr.  Grey  and  I  together. 
Somebody  dressed  me  in  long  white  robes.  Even  to 
this  day  I  don't  know  whether  it  was  a  dream  or  a 
reality.  Then  there  was  a  disturbance,  and  the  other 
man  came  in;  I  do  not  recollect  anything  after  but 
blows  and  pistol  shots;  when  I  came  to  myself  I  was 
in  the  jungle  with  my  horse  by  my  side.  From  that 
day  to  this  I  have  never  seen  or  heard  of  Mr.  Grey,  and 
I  never  again  beheld  the  man  I  loved,  and  who  gave 
his  life  to  save  me." 

Field  listened  patiently  enough  to  the  strange  story. 
He  had  yet  a  few  questions  to  ask. 

"  You  think  that  Mr.  Grey  had  been  initiated  into 
the  mysteries  of  those  rites  ? "  he  asked.  "  And  that 
his  idea  was  to  initiate  you  into  them  also  ? " 

"  I  think  so,"  Violet  Decie  said  with  a  shudder. 
"  There  are  such  strange  and  weird  things  in  the 
East  that  even  the  cleverest  of  our  scholars  know  noth- 
ing of  them.  An  old  nurse  used  to  tell  the  most  dread- 
ful tales.  Perhaps  the  man  who  died  for  me  could  have 
explained.  I  presume  that  he  followed  me,  expecting 
mischief  of  some  kind." 

"  I  dare  say  he  did,"  Field  replied.  "  Did  an  ex- 
planation follow  ?  " 

"  No.  I  declined  to  see  Mr.  Grey  again.  I  heard 
that  he  had  met  with  an  accident;  they  said  that  he 
was  maimed  for  life.  And  people  blamed  me  for  being 
callous  and  heartless.  As  if  they  knew !  Even  Mr. 
Grey's  sister  was  angry  with  me.     But  nothing  could 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  215 

induce  me  to  look  upon  the  face  of  that  man  again,  and 
I  left  Simla  soon  afterwards." 

"  And  that  is  all  you  have  to  tell  me  ?  "  Field  asked. 

"  I  don't  think  there  is  any  more.  It  is  rather 
strange  that  this  thing  should  crop  up  again  like  this, 
so  soon  after  I  have  been  to  see  Mr.  Sartoris,  who  re- 
minded me  so  strangely  of  Carl  Grey.  Only  of  course, 
Mr.  Sartoris  is  much  older." 

"  I  fancy  there  is  not  so  much  difference  between 
their  ages,"  Field  said  grimly.  "  You  see,  a  clever 
disguise  goes  a  long  way.  And  you  say  that  you  never 
saw  Mr.  Grey  after  that  supposed  accident.  A  thing 
like  that  changes  people  dreadfully." 

The  girl  looked  up  with  a  startled  expression  in  her 
eyes. 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say,"  she  faltered.  "  You  don't 
mean  to  suggest  that " 

"  That  Mr.  Grey  and  Mr.  Sartoris  are  one  and  the 
same  person,"  Field  said  quietly.  "  My  dear  young 
lady,  that  is  actually  the  fact.  Mr.  Sartoris  knew 
or  thought  that  you  could  give  him  certain  informa- 
tion. It  was  necessary  to  see  you.  The  name  of  Sar- 
toris would  convey  nothing  to  you,  and  in  that  interview 
the  man  was  right.  But  you  might  have  recognised 
him,  and  so  he  disguised  himself.  I  saw  the  disguise 
assumed;  I  saw  you  come  into  the  room  amongst  the 
flowers.  And  long  before  you  had  finished  what  you 
had  to  say  I  began  to  see  the  motive  for  what  looked 
like  a  purposeless  and  cruel  crime.  But  you  were  cer- 
tainly talking  to  Carl  Grey  last  night." 

The  girl  shuddered  violently  and  covered  her  face 
with  her  hands.  The  whole  thing  had  come  back  to 
her  now;  she  blushed  to  the  roots  of  her  hair  as  she 


216  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

realised  that  she  had  kissed  the  man  that  she  only 
thought  of  with  horror  and  detestation. 

"  If  I  had  known,  no  power  on  earth  would  have 
induced  me  to  enter  that  house,"  she  said.  "  That 
man  seems  to  be  as  cruel  and  cunning  as  ever.  But 
why  should  he  have  had  a  hand  in  the  stealing  of 
the  body  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll  ?  " 

"  We  will  come  to  that  presently,"  Eield  said  drily. 
"  Sartoris  wanted  certain  information  from  you,  the 
address  of  a  lawyer  or  something  of  that  kind.  You 
were  not  quite  sure  last  night  whether  or  not  you  could 
find  the  information.     Did  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  Violet  Decie  said.  "  I  found  it  in  an  old 
memorandum  book  of  mine." 

"  And  you  were  going  to  post  the  address  to  Mr. 
Sartoris  ? " 

"  I  am  afraid  the  mischief  is  done,"  the  girl  said. 
"  It  was  posted  early  this  morning." 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

HOT  words  rose  to  Field's  lips,  but  lie  managed 
to  swallow  them  just  in  time.  He  could  have 
wished  that  the  girl  had  not  been  quite  so  business- 
like in  her  methods. 

"  I  suppose  that  can't  be  helped,"  he  muttered. 
"  Though  it  certainly  gives  the  enemy  a  better  start. 
I  hope  you  have  not  destroyed  the  address  of  that  law- 
yer?" 

"  Oh,  no,"  Violet  cried.  "  It  is  in  my  old  memo- 
randum book.  Perhaps  you  Had  better  take  a  copy 
of  it  for  your  own  use.  I  have  no  doubt  that  my 
letter  has  been  delivered  at  Wandsworth  by  this  time, 
but  as  Mr.  Sartoris  is  a  cripple " 

Field  was  not  quite  so  sure  on  that  point.  Sartoris, 
it  was  true,  was  a  cripple,  but  then  Field  had  not 
forgotten  the  black  hansom  and  the  expedition  by  night 
to  the  Royal  Palace  Hotel.  He  felt  that  Sartoris  would 
not  let  the  grass  grow  under  his  feet.  From  the  memo- 
randum book  he  copied  the  address  —  which  proved  to 
be  a  street  in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields. 

"  Evidently  a  pretty  good  firm,"  Field  muttered. 
"  I  '11  go  round  there  at  once  and  see  Mr.  George 
Fleming.  But  there  is  one  thing,  you  will  be  silent 
as  to  all  I  have  told  you.  We  are  on  the  verge  of 
very  important  discoveries,  and  a  word  at  random  might 
ruin  everything." 

217 


218  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Violet  Decie  said  that  she  perfectly  well  understood 
what  she  had  to  do. 

"  Sartoris  may  try  to  see  you  again,"  Field  contin- 
ued. "  If  he  does,  do  not  answer  him.  Pretend  that 
you  are  still  ignorant;  do  nothing  to  arouse  his  sus- 
picions. Perhaps  it  would  have  been  better  if  I  had 
told  you  nothing  of  this,  but  I  fancy  that  I  can  trust 
you." 

"  You  can  trust  me  implicitly,"  the  girl  said  eagerly. 
"  If  it  is  to  harm  that  man " 

She  said  no  more,  and  Field  perfectly  understood 
what  her  feelings  were.  By  no  means  displeased  with 
his  morning's  work  he  started  off  in  the  direction  of 
Lincoln's  Inn  Fields.  He  was  pleased  to  find  that  the 
firm  of  George  Fleming  &  Co.  occupied  good  offices,  and 
that  the  clerks  looked  as  if  they  had  been  there  a  long 
time.  It  was  just  as  well  not  to  have  a  pettifogging 
lawyer  to  deal  with.  Mr.  Fleming  was  in,  but  he  was 
engaged  for  a  little  time.  Perhaps  the  gentleman 
would  state  his  business;  but  on  the  whole  Field  pre- 
ferred to  wait. 

He  interested  himself  for  some  little  time  behind 
the  broad  page  of  the  "  Daily  Telegraph,"  until  at 
length  an  inner  door  marked  "  private  "  opened  and 
a  tall  man  with  grey  hair  emerged,  with  a  crooked 
figure  dragging  on  his  arm.  .  Field  looked  over  the 
paper  for  a  moment,  and  then  ducked  down  again 
as  he  saw  Carl  Sartoris.  Evidently  the  cripple  had 
lost  no  time.  He  was  saying  something  now  in  a  low 
and  rasping  voice  to  the  lawyer. 

"  My  dear  sir,  there  shall  be  no  delay  at  all,"  the 
latter  replied.  "  I  am  bound  to  confess  that  that  deed 
has  made  all  the  difference.     I  always  told  Sir  Charles 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  219 

that  that  property  was  valuable.  But  he  would  never 
see  it,  and  if  he  had,  where  was  the  capital  to  work  it  ? 
But  why  he  never  told  me  that  he  had  made  the  thing 
over  to  you " 

"  Did  he  ever  tell  anybody  anything  that  facilitated 
business  ?  "  Sartoris  laughed.  "  I  daresay  he  forgot  all 
about  it,  poor  fellow." 

Sartoris  shuffled  painfully  out  of  the  office  with  the 
help  of  the  lawyer,  and  got  into  a  cab.  A  moment  later 
and  Field  was  in  the  inner  office  with  Mr.  Fleming. 
He  produced  his  card  and  laid  it  on  the  table  by  the 
way  of  introduction. 

"  This  is  the  first  time  I  have  been  honoured  by 
a  detective  in  all  my  long  experience,"  the  lawyer  said 
as  he  raised  his  eyebrows.  "  I  hope  there  is  nothing 
wrong,  sir  ? " 

"  Not  so  far  as  any  of  your  clients  are  concerned, 
sir,"  Field  replied.  "  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  am  the 
officer  who  has  charge  of  the  investigation  into  the 
strange  case  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll.  And  I  am  pretty 
sure  that  the  lame  gentleman  who  has  just  gone  out 
could  tell  you  all  about  it  if  he  chose.  I  mean  Mr. 
Carl  Sartoris." 

The  lawyer  again  raised  his  eyebrows,  but  said  noth- 
ing. 

"  I  see  you  have  no  disposition  to  help  me,"  Field 
proceeded.  "  But  just  now  Mr.  Sartoris  made  a  re- 
mark that  gives  me  an  opening.  He  came  to  you  to-day 
with  a  deed  which,  unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken,  pur- 
ports to  be  an  assignment  of  property  from  Sir  Charles 
to  Mr.  Sartoris.  And  that  property  is  probably  a  ruby 
mine  in  Bumah." 


220  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  So  far  you  are  quite  correct,"  the  lawyer  said  drily. 
"  Pray  proceed." 

"  I  must  ask  you  to  help  me  a  little,"  Field  cried. 
"  Let  me  tell  you  that  Carl  Sartoris  was  in  the  scheme 
to  obtain  possession  of  the  body  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll. 
He  was  the  lame  man  who  was  in  the  black  hansom. 
I  have  been  in  that  fellow's  house,  and  I  have  seen  the 
body  of  Sir  Charles,  unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken." 

"  Then,  why  don't  you  arrest  that  man  ?  "  the  lawyer 
asked. 

"  Because  I  want  the  whole  covey  at  one  bag,"  Field 
said  coolly.  "  Now,  sir,  will  you  let  me  see  the  deed 
that  Carl  Sartoris  brought  here  to-day  ?  Yesterday  he 
did  not  know  of  your  existence." 

"  He  has  been  going  to  write  to  me  for  a  long  time," 
Fleming  said. 

"  I  am  prepared  to '  stake  my  reputation  that  Carl 
Sartoris  never  heard  your  name  till  this  morning," 
Field  said  coolly.  "  I  can  produce  a  witness  to  prove 
it  if  you  like.  My  witness  is  Miss  Violet  Decie,  only 
daughter  of  Lord  Edward  Decie  of  that  ilk." 

The  lawyer's  dry,  cautious  manner  seemed  to  be 
melting.  He  took  up  a  sheet  of  parchment  and  read  it. 
It  was  a  deed  of  some  kind,  in  which  the  names  of 
Charles  Darryll  and  Carl  Sartoris  figured  very  fre- 
quently.    Field  asked  to  be  told  the  gist  of  it. 

"  An  assignment  of  mining  rights,"  Fleming  ex- 
plained. "  A  place  in  Burmah.  It  was  a  dangerous 
place  to  get  at  some  time  ago,  but  things  have  changed 
recently.  At  one  time  certain  Burmese  followed  Sir 
Charles  about  and  threatened  his  life  unless  he  prom- 
ised to  let  the  thing  drop.  But  Sir  Charles  had  assigned 
all  his  interest  for  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  paid 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  221 

to  him  by  Mr.  Carl  Sartoris.     Here  is  the  signature." 

The  deed  looked  regular  enough.  Eield  looked 
closely  at  the  signature  of  Sir  Charles. 

"  Of  course  it  would  be  easy  to  get  the  body  of  the 
deed  written  by  a  clerk,"  he  said  with  a  thoughtful  air. 
"  If  there  was  anything  wrong  about  the  thing,  the 
false  note  would  ring  out  in  the  signature.  Are  you 
sure  that  it  is  genuine  ? " 

"  Quite,"  the  lawyer  said  with  conviction.  "  I  '11 
show  you  some  old  letters  of  poor  Sir  Charles  if  you 
like.  The  signature  is  a  little  peculiar  in  the  respect 
that  it  has  a  long  loop  to  the  first  1,  and  a  short  loop 
to  the  second.  That  appears  in  every  signature.  Be- 
sides there  is  that  little  flourish  over  the  C.  The  flour- 
ish really  forms  the  initials  '  C.  I).'  Can't  you  see 
that  for  yourself  ?  Leave  out  ever  so  little  of  the  flour- 
ish, and  the  '  C.  D.'  disappears." 

Field  was  fain  to  be  satisfied,  though  he  was  a  little 
disappointed  too.  The  pretty  little  theory  that  he  had 
been  building  up  in  his  mind  had  been  shattered. 

"  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  give  way  on  that  point," 
he  said.  "  Only  it  strikes  me  as  strange  that  a  man 
should  have  allowed  this  matter  to  lie  for  three  years 
without  ^making  use  of  it.  Unless,  of  course,  Sir 
Charles's  death  made  all  the  difference.     Allow  me." 

Field's  eyes  began  to  gleam  as  they  dwelt  on  the 
parchment.  There  was  a  red  seal  in  the  top  left- 
hand  corner,  a  red  seal  with  silver  paper  let  into  it 
and  some  small  figures  on  the  edge. 

"  What  do  those  figures  represent  ?  "  he  asked.  The 
figures  4.  4.  '93,  I  mean." 

"  The  date,"  Fleming  explained.  "  Those  stamped 
skins  are  forwarded  from  Somerset  House  to  the  various 


222  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

sub-offices,  and  they  are  dated  on  the  day  they  go  out. 
The  date-figures  are  very  small,  and  only  the  legal  eye 
gives  them  any  value  at  all." 

Field  jumped  up  in  a  great  state  of  excitement.  He 
had  made  an  important  discovery. 

"  Then  this  is  a  forgery,  after  all,"  he  cried.  4.  4. 
'93  means  the  fourth  of  April  1893,  and  the  deed  is 
dated  three  years  ago.  How  are  you  going  to  get  over 
that,  sir  ?     I  take  it,  there  are  no  mistakes  in  the  date  %  " 

Even  the  lawyer  was  forced  out  of  his  calm  manner 
for  the  moment.  He  looked  very  closely  at  the  red 
stamp  through  his  glasses.  It  was  some  time  before 
he  spoke. 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  he  said.  "  And  as  to  there 
being  a  mistake  in  the  date,  that  is  absolutely  out  of  the 
question.  You  may  be  quite  certain  that  Somerset 
House  makes  no  mistakes  like  that.  It  is  most  extra- 
ordinary." 

"  I  don't  see  anything  extraordinary  about  it,"  Field 
said  coolly.  "  That  rascal,  clever  as  he  is,  has  made  a 
mistake.  Not  knowing  anything  of  legal  matters  in 
these  minor  points,  it  has  never  occurred  to  him  to  see 
whether  these  parchment  stamps  are  dated  or  not.  He 
simply  bought  a  skin  and  got  some  engrossing  clerk  to 
make  out  the  deed.  Then  he  put  in  the  date,  and  there 
you  are." 

"  Stop  a  minute,  Mr.  Field,"  Mr.  Fleming  put  in. 
"  There  is  one  little  point  that  you  have  overlooked. 
I  am  quite  prepared  to  take  my  oath  to  the  fact  that  the 
signature  is  genuine." 

Field  stared  at  the  speaker.  He  could  find  no  words 
for  the  moment.  He  could  see  that  Fleming  was  in 
deadly  earnest.     The  silence  continued  for  some  time. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  223 

u  Well,  I  thought  that  I  had  got  to  the  bottom  of 
this  business,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  I  am  mistaken," 
Field  admitted.  "  In  the  face  of  the  evidence  of  for- 
gery that  I  have  just  produced,  your  statement  that  the 
signature  is  genuine  fairly  staggers  me." 

"  The  deed  purporting  to  have  been  executed  three 
years  ago  has  only  been  executed  a  few  days,  or  a  few 
months  at  the  outside,"  Fleming  said.  "  What  I  think 
is  this  —  there  must  have  been  some  reason  why  the 
deed  was  dated  back.  Perhaps  the  old  one  was  de- 
stroyed and  this  one  copied  from  the  other,  and  exe- 
cuted say  a  month  or  two  ago.  Would  that  not  meet 
the  case  ?     You  see  I  am  taking  a  legal  view  of  it." 

"  You  are  still  sure  of  the  signature  ?  "  Field  asked. 

"  Absolutely.  On  that  head  I  do  not  hesitate  for  a 
moment.  Whatever  else  may  happen,  I  am  positive 
that  Sir  Charles  wrote  that  signature." 

Field  scratched  his  head  in  a  puzzled  kind  of  way. 
It  was  some  time  before  he  began  to  see  his  way  clear 
again.     Then  a  happy  thought  came  to  him. 

"  If  they  are  so  particular  at  Somerset  House,  the 
fact  may  help  us.  When  those  deed  stamps  are  sold 
to  the  public,  are  the  numbers  taken,  and  all  that  ?  " 

"  So  I  understand.  But  what  do  you  want  to  get 
at  ?     Yes,  I  think  you  are  right." 

"  Anyway,  I  'm  on  the  right  track,"  Field  cried. 
"  If  what  I  ask  is  a  fact,  then  the  people  at  the  sub- 
office  will  be  able  to  tell  me  the  date  that  parchment 
was  sold.  I  see  there  is  a  number  on  the  stamp.  If 
I  take  that  to  Somerset  House " 

Field  spent  half  an  hour  at  Somerset  House,  and 
then  he  took  a  cab  to  Wandsworth.  He  stopped  at 
the  Inland  Revenue  Office  there  and  sent  in  his  card. 


224  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Giving  a  brief  outline  of  what  he  wanted  to  the  clerk, 
he  laid  down  his  slip  of  paper  with  the  number  of 
the  stamp  on  it  and  the  date,  and  merely  asked  to  know 
when  that  was  sold  and  to  whom. 

He  watched  the  clerk  vaguely  as  he  turned  over  his 
book.  It  seemed  a  long  time  before  any  definite  result 
was  arrived  at.     Then  the  clerk  looked  over  his  glasses. 

"  I  fancy  I  've  got  what  you  want,"  he  said.  "  What 
is  the  number  on  your  paper  ?  " 

"  44791,"  Field  said,  "  and  the  date." 

"  Never  mind  dates,  that  is  quite  immaterial,  Mr. 
Field.  You  have  us  now.  That  stamped  parchment 
was  sold  early  this  morning,  just  after  the  office  was 
open — why,  I  must  have  sold  it  myself.  Yes;  there 
is  no  mistake." 

With  a  grim  smile  on  his  face,  Field  drove  back  to 
London.  He  began  to  see  his  way  clearer  to  the  end 
of  the  mystery  now. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  cab  with  Mary  Sartoris  inside  jolted  along 
behind  the  other  one,  and  presently  Mary  was 
greatly  relieved  to  find  that  her  horse  was  going  the 
faster  of  the  two.  She  bitterly  blamed  herself  now  for 
her  folly  in  not  waiting  to  see  Beatrice,  and  still  more 
so  for  trusting  so  important  a  letter  in  the  hands  of  a 
mere  servant. 

But  it  was  idle  to  repine  over  the  thing  now.  The 
mischief  had  been  done  and  the  great  thing  was  to 
repair  it  as  soon  as  possible.  As  Mary's  mind  emerged 
from  the  haze  in  which  it  had  been  enveloped  for  the 
last  few  days,  she  began  to  see  things  more  clearly. 
Now  she  realised  that  she  had  no  settled  plan  of  action 
when  she  set  out  to  see  Beatrice.  She  would  have  had 
to  tell  her  everything  or  nothing  had  they  met,  and  she 
could  not  have  done  this  without  making  certain  dis- 
closures about  her  brother.  She  saw  now  that  it  would 
have  been  far  better  to  have  destroyed  the  letter  and 
said  nothing  about  it. 

But  then  Mary  could  not  tell  a  deliberate  lie  of 
that  kind,  and  Carl  Sartoris  would  have  been  pretty 
sure  to  have  asked  the  question.  He  was  pleased  to 
regard  his  sister  more  or  less  in  the  light  of  a  fool,  but 
he  did  not  trust  her  any  the  more  for  that. 

Mary  lay  back  in  the  cab  and  resigned  herself  to 
the  inevitable.     It  was  good  to  feel  that  she  was  leaving 
the  others  behind  now,  and  her  spirits  rose  accordingly. 
!5  225 


220  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

If  she  could  only  get  to  Wandsworth  before  the  precious 
pair,  she  would  be  all  right,  provided  always  that 
Beatrice  had  not  been  in  front  of  her.  But  as  most  of 
the  trains  were  usually  late  there  was  more  than  a 
chance  of  success  in  this  direction.  The  girl  was  near- 
ing  her  destination  now.  She  lifted  the  shutter  on  the 
top  of  the  cab  and  asked  if  the  other  cab  was  at  any 
distance.  There  was  a  queer  sort  of  a  grin  on  the 
cabman's  face,  as  he  answered. 

"  About  five  hundred  yards,  miss,"  he  said.  "  Some- 
thing seems  to  have  gone  wrong  with  them.  So  far 
as  I  can  see  the  cab  has  lost  a  tire." 

The  other  cab  had  stopped,  and  something  like  an 
altercation  was  going  on  between  the  fare  and  the 
driver. 

Mary  had  not  far  to  go  now,  and  she  decided  that 
it  would  be  safer  to  walk  the  rest  of  the  distance. 
There  was  a  little  crowd  gathering  behind  her  and  a 
policeman's  helmet  in  the  centre  of  it.  Truly  fortune 
was  playing  on  her  side  now. 

It  was  not  very  far  to  the  house ;  there  it  stood  dark 
and  silent,  with  no  light  showing  in  the  garden  in  front. 
Mary  felt  pretty  sure  that  she  was  in  time.  Then 
the  front  door  of  the  house  opened,  there  was  a  sight 
of  the  hall  in  a  blaze  of  light,  and  in  the  foreground 
the  figure  of  a  woman  standing  on  the  doorstep. 

Mary  gave  a  groan  and  staggered  back  with  her  hand 
to  her  head. 

"  What  a  piece  of  cruel  misfortune,"  she  exclaimed 
passionately.  "  Another  minute  and  I  should  have 
been  in  time.  Why  did  I  not  drive  up  to  the  house? 
My  over-caution  has  spoilt  it  all.  I  am  sure  that  was 
Beatrice  Richford." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  227 

The  door  of  the  house  closed  and  the  figure  of 
the  woman  disappeared  insijde.  Mary  had  had  all  her 
trouble  for  nothing.  Not  only  was  Beatrice  more  or 
less  of  a  prisoner  there,  but  those  thieves  were  pressing 
on  behind.  What  was  the  best  thing  to  be  done  now, 
with  Beatrice  exposed  to  the  double  danger?  Mary 
racked  her  weary  brains  in  vain.  And  in  a  few  min- 
utes at  the  outside  the  others  would  be  here.  It  seemed 
impossible  to  do  anything  to  save  Beatrice  from  this 
two-edged  peril.  Mary  started  as  she  caught  sight  of  a 
figure  coming  up  the  front  garden.  It  was  a  stealthy 
figure  and  the  man  evidently  did  not  want  to  be  seen. 
As  he  caught  sight  of  Mary  he  stopped.  It  was  too 
dark  to  distinguish  anything  but  his  outline. 

"  Beatrice,"  the  man  said  in  a  tone  of  deep  relief. 
"  Thank  God,  I  have  come  in  time." 

Mary  did  not  know  whether  to  be  pleased  or  alarmed^ 
Evidently  this  man  was  some  friend  of  Beatrice  who 
had  obtained  an  inkling  of  her  danger  and  had  come 
to  save  her.  On  the  whole  it  seemed  to  Mary  that  she 
had  an  ally  here. 

"  I  am  afraid  you  are  mistaken,"  she  whispered. 
"  I  am  not  Beatrice  Richford.  But  I  am  doing  my 
best  for  the  young  lady  all  the  same.     She  is " 

"  Don't  say  that  she  is  in  the  house  ?  "  the  man  said 
in  a  muffled  tone. 

"  Alas,  that  I  can  say  nothing  else,"  Mary  replied. 
"  I  was  just  too  late.  Mrs.  Richford  had  just  entered 
the  doorway  as  I  came  up.  If  you  will  tell  me  your 
name ■" 

"  Perhaps  I  had  better,"  the  stranger  said  after  a 
minute's  hesitation.  w  I  am  Mark  Ventmore ;  perhaps 
you  have  heard  of  me." 


228  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

Mary  gave  a  little  sigh  of  relief.  She  knew  all  about 
Mark  Ventmore.  Here  indeed  was  a  man  who  would 
be  ready  to  help  her.     She  drew  a  little  nearer  to  him. 

"  And  I  am  Mary  Sartoris,"  she  said.  "  If  you  have 
heard  of  me " 

"  Oh,  yes,  you  are  the  sister  of  that  —  I  mean  Carl 
Sartoris  is  your  brother.  But  surely  you  are  alto- 
gether innocent  of  the  —  the  strange  things  that  — — " 

u  I  am  innocent  of  everything,"  said  Mary  passion- 
ately. "  I  have  wasted  my  life  clinging  to  a  man  in 
the  faint  hope  of  bringing  him  back  to  truth  and  honour 
again.  I  am  beginning  to  see  now  that  I  am  having 
my  trouble  for  my  pains,  Mr.  Ventmore.  Suffice  it 
for  the  present  to  say  that  Mrs.  Richford  stands  in 
great  peril." 

"  Oh,  I  know  that,"  Ventmore  said  hoarsely.  "  I 
got  that  information  from  Bentwood,  the  scoundrel ! 
At  the  instigation  of  Inspector  Field,  who  has  pretty 
well  posted  me  on  recent  doings,  I  have  been  following 
that  rascal  pretty  well  all  day.  We  won't  say  anything 
about  Berrington,  who  I  understand  is  more  or  less  of 
a  prisoner  in  your  brother's  house,  because  Berrington 
is  the  kind  of  man  who  can  take  care  of  himself.  But 
Beatrice  is  in  peril  —  Bentwood  told  me  that.  The  fel- 
low's brains  are  in  a  state  of  muddle  so  I  could  not  get 
the  truth  from  him.  It  was  something  about  a  case  of 
diamonds." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  Mary  said.  "  The  diamonds  that  Mr. 
Richford  gave  his  wife  for  a  wedding  present.  Mr. 
Richford  has  got  himself  into  severe  trouble." 

"  Richford  is  a  disgraced  and  ruined  man.  The 
police  are  after  him." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  229 

"  So  I  gathered.  He  is  now  in  the  disguise  of  an 
elderly  clergyman,  and  at  present  he  is " 

"  Hiding  in  that  house  at  Edward  Street,"  Mark 
cried.  "  I  saw  him  with  Bentwood.  But  what  has 
he  to  do  with  those  diamonds  ?  " 

"  Everything.  I  overheard  the  plot  laid,"  Mary 
proceeded  to  explain.  "  Mr.  Bichford  went  to  his  wife 
and  demanded  the  diamonds.  He  wanted  to  raise 
money  so  that  he  could  go  away  in  comfort  and  luxury. 
He  told  his  wife  exactly  how  he  was  situated.  She 
refused  to  comply  with  the  request  on  the  ground  that 
the  stones  belonged  to  Mr.  Bichford's  creditors.  Then 
unhappily,  Mrs.  Bichford  withdrew  the  diamonds  from 
the  custody  of  the  hotel  officials,  being  afraid  that  there 
would  be  a  bother  over  them  or  something  of  that  kind. 
Bichford  watched  her  do  it.  Then  he  met  two  ac- 
complices who  recently  passed  as  General  Gastang  and 
Countess  de  la  Moray,  and  the  plot  was  laid.  Mrs. 
Bichford  was  to  come  here." 

"  But  in  the  name  of  fortune,  why  was  she  to  come 
here  ?  "  Mark  asked. 

"  Perhaps  I  had  better  be  a  little  more  candid  with 
you,"  Mary  sighed.  "  There  is  a  scheme  on  foot  be- 
tween my  brother  and  some  of  the  gang  to  gain  pos- 
session of  certain  papers  that  belonged  to  Sir  Charles 
Darryll.  There  are  keys,  too,  which  Mrs.  Bichford 
is  known  to  possess.  I  don't  quite  know  what  the 
scheme  is." 

"  Anyway  I  can  give  a  pretty  good  guess,"  Mark 
said.  "  My  father  has  been  very  ill  and  he  sent  for 
me.  We  have  not  been  very  good  friends,  my  father 
and  I,  because  I  turned  my  back  on  the  city  for  the 
sake  of  art.     But  all  that  is  past  now,  and  we  have 


230  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

become  reunited.  My  father  seems  to  know  a  great 
deal  about  Sir  Charles's  affairs  —  something  about  a 
ruby  mine  or  something  of  that  kind.  Anyway,  I  'm 
to  get  my  information  from  Mr.  Fleming,  who  is  my 
father's  solicitor.  But  I  am  afraid  that  I  am  inter- 
rupting you." 

"  There  is  not  much  more  to  tell,"  Mary  went  on. 
"  Colonel  Berrington  was  induced  to  write  a  letter  to 
Mrs.  Biehford  asking  her  to  come  here  and  see  my 
brother." 

"  Berrington  must  have  been  mad  to  think  of  such  a 
thing !  " 

"  No,  he  did  it  at  my  instigation.  I  managed  to 
communicate  with  him  and  assure  him  that  no  harm 
should  come  of  it.  No  harm  would  have  come  of  it 
if  I  had  only  kept  my  head  and  done  the  right  thing. 
But  the  fact  remains  that  Mrs.  Biehford  is  in  there; 
she  has  those  diamonds  in  her  pocket  and  the  thieves 
are  on  the  track.     It  seems  to  me " 

Mary  did  not  finish  the  sentence,  for  Mark  held  out 
a  hand  and  pulled  her  behind  a  bush,  just  in  time,  as 
two  other  people  came  up  the  path.  There  was  no 
occasion  to  tell  either  of  the  watchers  that  here  were 
the  people  of  whom  they  were  talking.  The  man  Beg- 
gie  and  the  woman  Cora  were  standing  on  the  doorstep 
whispering  together.  It  was  quite  a  still  night  and  the 
other  two  behind  the  bushes  could  hear  every  word  that 
was  said. 

"  So  far,  so  good,"  the  man  was  saying.  "  We've 
got  here  and  we  are  pretty  sure  that  our  bird  is  securely 
caged,  but  what  next  ?  " 

"Wait  our  chance,"  the  woman  said  with  a  certain 
fierce  indrawing  of  her  breath.     "  We  can  appear  to 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  231 

have  come  here  by  accident,  for  instructions,  anything. 
So  long  as  Sartoris  does  not  know  about  those  stones 
we  are  safe.     When  we  get  them " 

"  When  we  get  them,  Richford  can  whistle  for  his 
share  of  the  money,"  the  man  said  coolly.  "  By  this 
time  to-morrow  we  shall  be  in  possession  of  more  money 
than  we  have  ever  had  before.  I  don't  like  this  present 
business,  it 's  far  too  dangerous.  Unless  we  go  so  far 
as  to  murder  that  fellow  Berrington  and  get  him  out  of 
the  way " 

"  Don't,"  the  woman  said  with  a  shudder.  "  I  hate 
that  kind  of  work.  Anything  clever  or  cunning,  any- 
thing requiring  audacity,  I  can  do  with.  But  vio- 
lence !  " 

She  shuddered  again,  and  the  man  laughed  softly 
as  if  greatly  pleased  with  some  idea  of  his. 

"  There  is  going  to  be  no  more  violence  or  anything 
else,"  he  said.  "  This  game  has  got  far  too  dangerous. 
We  '11  change  those  stones  into  money  and  then  we  '11 
quietly  vanish  and  leave  our  good  friend  Sartoris  to 
his  own  devices.     What  do  you  say  to  that  ?  " 

"  Amen,  with  all  my  heart,"  the  girl  said.  "  The 
sooner  the  better.  But  don't  forget  that  we  have  not 
yet  settled  on  a  plan  of  action." 

"Leave  it  to  chance,"  the. man  replied.  "We  have 
all  the  knowledge  that  is  necessary  to  the  success  of 
our  scheme,  and  the  girl  knows  nothing.  She  will  not 
stay  very  long,  it  is  getting  late  already.  Suppose  we 
pretend  that  we  have  a  cab  waiting  to  take  us  back  to 
town,  and  suppose  that  we  offer  to  give  her  a  lift. 

Then  that  scent  of  yours "     The  woman  called 

Cora  laughed  and  clapped  her  hands  gleefully.     It  was 


232  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

an  idea  after  her  own  heart.  She  patted  her  compan- 
ion affectionately  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Come  along,  then,"  she  said.  "  Open  the  door 
with  your  latchkey.  It 's  getting  cold  and  I  am  long- 
ing for  something  to  eat.  This  kind  of  thing  makes 
me  hungry." 

The  door  opened  and  then  closed  again  softly, 
and  the  conspirators  had  vanished.  With  a  gesture 
of  anger  Mark  strode  towards  the  house,  Mary  fol- 
fowing. 

"  What  on  earth  are  you  going  to  do  ? "  she  said 
anxiously.  "  Will  you  spoil  everything  by  your  im- 
patience? If  you  only  realized  the  dangers  that  lie 
hidden  yonder ! " 

Mark  paused  abruptly  and  bit  his  lip.  The  trouble 
was  not  over  yet. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

MEANWHILE,  absolutely  unconscious  of  the  dan- 
gers that  were  rapidly  closing  around  her, 
Beatrice  took  her  way  to  Wandsworth.  Richford  had 
been  ingenious  enough  to  see  that  Beatrice  would  go 
down  by  rail,  as  she  had  very  little  money  to  spare, 
so  that  if  they  desired  it,  the  two  conspirators  could 
have  got  there  before  her.  But  there  was  no  occasion 
for  that,  seeing  that  Beatrice  had  the  treasure  in  her 
pocket  and  Sartoris  was  none  the  wiser. 

Richford  would  have  gone  far  at  that  moment  to 
spite  Sartoris.  He  had  tried  to  play  the  latter  false 
over  the  scheme  that  they  had  in  hand  together,  and 
Sartoris  had  found  him  out.  The  latter  made  it  a  rule 
never  to  trust  anybody,  and  he  had  been  suspicious  of 
Richford  from  the  first.  He  had  known  exactly  how 
Richford's  affairs  stood,  he  had  seen  that  a  sudden 
blow  dealt  at  him  now  would  pull  the  whole  structure 
down  and  ruin  it  for  ever.  And  without  the  smallest 
feeling  in  the  matter,  Sartoris  had  done  this  thing. 
But  for  him  Richford  could  have  pulled  around  again, 
as  Sartoris  had  been  aware. 

But  Sartoris  had  had  enough  of  his  ally  and  in 
this  way  he  got  rid  of  him  altogether.  Richford  dared 
not  show  his  face  again ;  he  would  have  to  leave  the 
country  and  never  return.  Sartoris  chuckled  to  him- 
self as  he  thought  of  this. 

He  was  on  extremely  good  terms  with  himself  when 
233 


234  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Beatrice  called.  She  had  not  given  the  letter  from 
Berrington  very  much  consideration,  though  she  was  a 
little  surprised  at  the  address.  Doubtless  the  matter 
had  something  to  do  with  her  father,  the  girl  thought. 
The  mystery  of  that  strange  disappearance  was  getting 
on  her  nerves  sadly. 

Rather  timidly  the  girl  knocked  at  the  door  of  the 
gloomy  looking  house,  which  was  opened  after  a  pause 
by  a  little  man  in  an  invalid  chair.  Beatrice  looked 
at  him  in  surprise.  She  gained  some  courage  from  a 
quick  glance  at  the  hall  with  its  electric  lights 
and  fine  pictures  and  the  magnificent  flowers 
in  pots  and  vases  everywhere.  It  seemed  to  Beatrice 
that  only  a  woman  could  be  responsible  for  this  good 
taste,  and  she  took  heart  accordingly.  No  desperate 
characters  could  occupy  a  house  like  this,  she  told  her- 
self, and  in  any  case  a  helpless  little  man  in  a  chair 
could  not  prove  a  formidable  antagonist 

"  I  hope  I  have  not  made  any  mistake,"  she  said. 
"  If  this  is  100,  Audley  Place " 

"This  is  100,  Audley  Place,  Mrs.  Richford,"  the 
little  man  said.  "  Will  you  be  be  so  good  as  to  come 
this  way  and  shut  the  door?  I  have  been  expecting 
you." 

"  It  was  a  letter  that  I  received  from  my  friend, 
Colonel  Berrington,"  Beatrice  said.  "  He  asked  me 
to  call  and  see  him  here.     I  hope  he  is  not  ill." 

"  I  have  not  noticed  any  signs  of  illness,"  Sartoris 
said  drily.  "  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  Colonel  had 
very  good  reasons  for  asking  you  to  come  here,  in  fact 
he  did  so  to  oblige  me.  The  Colonel  is  out  at  present. 
He  is  staying  with  me,  being  fond  of  the  air  of  the 
place.     I  dare  say  he  will  be  back  before  you  go." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  235 

Beatrice  nodded  in  bewildered  fashion.  In  some 
vague  way  it  seemed  to  her  that  her  host  was  making 
fun  of  her,  there  was  just  a  faint  suggestion  of  mock- 
ery in  his  tones.  Was  there  any  plot  against  her  on 
foot,  Beatrice  wondered.  But  nobody  could  possibly 
know  of  the  diamonds  in  her  pocket;  besides,  she  had 
received  the  letter  before  she  had  thought  of  removing 
those  diamonds  from  the  custody  of  the  hotel  people. 
Again,  as  to  the  genuineness  of  Berrington's  letter  she 
did  not  entertain  the  shadow  of  a  doubt.  Nobody,  not 
even  an  expert,  could  succeed  in  making  a  successful 
forgery  of  the  dashing  hand-writing  of  Berrington. 

"  If  you  will  come  this  way,"  Sartoris  said  quietly, 
"  we  shall  be  more  comfortable.  As  the  evening  is  by 
no  means  warm  you  will  perhaps  not  object  to  the  tem- 
perature of  my  room.  If  you  are  fond  of  flowers,  you 
may  admire  it." 

A  little  cry  of  admiration  broke  from  Beatrice  at 
the  sight  of  the  conservatory  room.  She  had  forgotten 
all  her  fears  for  the  moment.  Gradually  she  let  the 
atmosphere  of  the  place  steal  over  her.  She  found 
that  she  was  replying  to  a  lot  of  searching  questions 
as  to  her  past  and  the  past  of  her  father,  Sir  Charles. 
No,  she  had  no  papers,  nor  did  she  know  where  to  find 
those  keys.  She  wondered  what  this  man  was  driv- 
ing at. 

"  I  knew  your  father  very  well  at  one  time,"  he 
said.  "  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  him  in  India.  In  fact 
he  and  I  were  in  more  than  one  expedition  together." 

"  What  year  was  that  ?  "  Beatrice  asked  quite  inno- 
cently. 

To  her  surprise  Sartoris  gave  signs  of  irritation 
and  anger.     He  turned  it  off  a  moment  later  by  an 


236  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

allusion  to  neuralgia,  but  Beatrice  was  not  quite  sat- 
isfied. Why  did  this  man  want  the  key  of  a  certain 
desk,  and  why  did  he  require  a  bundle  of  papers  in  a 
blue  envelope  therefrom  ?  Beatrice  resolved  to  be  on 
her  guard. 

"  I  will  do  what  I  can  for  you,"  she  said.  "  If  you 
can  come  and  see  me." 

"  I  am  afraid  that  is  impossible,"  said  Sartoris,  who 
had  lapsed  into  his  bland  manner  once  more.  "  I  am 
sensitive  of  people's  remarks  and  all  that  kind  of  thing. 
I  dare  say  you  will  think  that  I  am  morbidly  self- 
conscious,  but  then  I  have  not  always  been  a  cripple. 
I  was  as  straight  as  yourself  once.  Fancy  a  little 
crooked  figure  like  me  in  a  hansom  cab !  " 

Beatrice  started  violently.  The  words  had  recalled 
a  painful  time  to  her.  She  recollected  now  with  vivid 
force  that  on  the  night  of  Sir  Charles's  disappearance 
a  little  crooked  man  in  a  hansom  cab  had  been  the  di- 
recting party  in  the  outrage. 

The  girl's  instinct  had  led  her  swiftly  to  the  truth. 
She  felt,  as  sure  as  if  she  had  been  told,  that  this  man 
before  her  was  at  the  bottom  of  this  business.  She 
knew  that  she  stood  face  to  face  with  the  man  who  had 
stolen  the  body  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll.  For  a  moment 
Beatrice  fought  hard  with  the  feeling  that  she  was  going 
to  faint.  Her  eyes  dilated  and  she  looked  across  at  the 
man  opposite.  He  was  lying  back  in  his  chair  feast- 
ing his  eyes  upon  her  beauty,  so  that  the  subtle  change 
in  the  girl's  face  was  not  lost  upon  him. 

"  I  seem  to  have  alarmed  you  about  something,"  he 
said.  "  What  was  it  ?  Surely  the  spectacle  of  a 
crooked  little  man  like  me  in  a  hansom  cab  is  not  so 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  237 

dreadful  as  all  that.  And  yet  those  words  must  have 
touched  upon  a  chord  somewhere." 

"  It  —  it  recalled  my  father  to  me,"  Beatrice  stam- 
mered. "  The  police  found  certain  things  out.  They 
discovered  the  night  my  father  disappeared  that  outside 
the  hotel  was  a  black  hansom  cab  with  a  man  inside 
who  was  a  cripple. 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that !  "  Sartoris  cried. 

In  his  turn  he  had  almost  betrayed  himself.  He 
could  have  cursed  himself  aloud  now.  As  it  was,  he 
forced  an  unsteady  smile  to  his  lips. 

"  I  mean  to  say  that  the  police  are  very  clever  at 
that  kind  of  thing,"  he  went  on.  "  But  surely  you 
would  not  possibly  identify  me  or  my  remark  with 
the  monster  in  question !  There  are  a  great  many 
people  in  this  big  London  of  ours  who  would  answer 
to  that  description.  Now  tell  me,  did  the  police  find 
anything  more  out  ?  " 

The  question  was  eager,  despite  the  fact  that  Sartoris 
imparted  a  laugh  into  it.  But  Beatrice  was  not  to  be 
drawn  any  further.  She  felt  absolutely  certain  of  the 
fact  that  she  was  talking  to  the  real  culprit  who  was 
picking  her  brain  so  that  he  could  get  to  the  bottom  of 
what  the  police  had  discovered,  with  an  eye  to  the  fu- 
ture. 

"  Really,  I  don't  know,"  the  girl  said  coldly.  "  That 
is  all  that  I  overheard.  The  police  I  find  are  very 
close  over  these  matters,  and  in  any  case  they  do  not 
usually  choose  a  woman  as  their  confidant.  You  had 
better  ask  Colonel  Berrington." 

It  was  an  unfortunate  remark  in  more  senses  than 
one.  Beatrice  did  not  quite  realize  how  quick  and 
clever  was  the  man  to  whom  she  was  talking.     If  his 


238  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

instinct  had  told  him  much  his  cleverness  told  him 
more.  Berrington  was  in  the  confidence  of  the  police. 
And  Sartoris  had  imagined  that  the  soldier  was  work- 
ing out  the  problem  on  his  own  behalf.  He  had 
counted,  too,  on  Berrington's  affection  for  Mary  to 
do  as  little  harm  as  possible. 

"  I  '11  ask  the  Colonel,"  he  said  between  his  teeth. 
"  Oh,  yes,  I  will  certainly  do  that.  What  are  you 
looking  at  so  closely  ?  " 

Beatrice  had  risen  to  her  feet  in  her  eagerness.  She 
pointed  to  two  cabinet  photographs. 

"  Those  people,"  she  stammered.  "  Why,  I  know 
them.  They  call  themselves  Countess  de  la  Moray  and 
General  Gastang.  They  were  staying  at  the  Royal 
Palace  Hotel  the  night  of  the  tragedy.  They  pretended 
to  know  me  and  all  about  me.  I  am  quite  sure  that 
they  are  actors  in  disguise.  But  seeing  that  you  know 
them " 

Sartoris  turned  away  his  face  for  a  moment,  so 
that  Beatrice  should  not  see  its  evil  expression.  He 
cursed  himself  for  his  inane  folly.  But  he  was  quick 
to  rise  to  the  situation. 

"  A  very  strange  thing,"  he  said.  "  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  I  don't  know  those  people.  But  some  friends 
of  mine  in  Paris  were  their  victims  some  little  time 
ago,  and  they  were  anxious  that  the  police  here  should  be 
warned,  as  the  precious  pair  had  fled  to  England.  Per- 
haps they  were  proud  of  this  guise,  perhaps  their  vanity 
impelled  them,  but  they  had  those  photographs  taken 
and  my  friends  got  copies  and  sent  them  to  me.  They 
only  arrived  to-day  or  they  would  not  be  here.  They 
will  go  to  Scotland  Yard  in  the  morning." 

Beatrice  inclined  her  head  coldly.     She  knew  the 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  239 

whole  thing  was  a  quick  and  ready  lie,  and  she  could 
not  for  the  life  of  her  pretend  to  believe  it.  She  but- 
toned her  jacket  about  her  and  stood  up. 

"  I  will  not  detain  you  any  longer,"  she  said.  "  If 
I  can  find  what  you  desire  I  will  let  you  know.  I  can 
find  my  own  way  to  the  door." 

"  Wait  till  Berrington  returns,"  Sartoris  urged. 
"  He  will  not  be  long.  He  is  not  in  the  house  yet,  but 
he  will  be  sorry  he  has  missed  you." 

Beatrice  stood  before  the  glass  putting  her  hat  on 
straight.  She  could  see  over  her  shoulder  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  door,  and  there  in  the  gloom  with  his 
finger  to  his  lips  stood  Berrington.  There  was  just  a 
suggestion  of  surprise  in  his  eyes,  surprise  and  annoy- 
ance, but  the  look  which  he  passed  the  girl  was  a  com- 
mand to  keep  herself  well  in  hand.  The  mere  fact 
that  help  was  so  near  gave  her  a  new  courage.  She 
smiled  as  she  turned  to  Sartoris. 

"  Well,  I  am  afraid  that  I  must  be  going,"  she  said. 
"  Please  tell  the  Colonel  when  he  comes  in  that  I  am 
sorry  to  have  missed  him.     He  will  understand  that." 

There  was  the  faint  click  of  a  key  in  the  front  door, 
and  two  people  came  noisily  into  the  room.  They  were 
a  young  and  handsome  man  and  an  equally  young  and 
handsome  woman,  well  dressed,  smartly  groomed,  and 
well  bred.  And  yet,  though  they  were  strangers  to 
Beatrice,  they  were  at  the  same  time  curiously  familiar. 
The  girl  was  trying  to  recall  where  she  had  seen  them 
both  before. 

"  We  are  rather  late,"  the  man  said  with  a  wink 
at  Sartoris.  "  Business  detained  us.  Yes,  we  are 
also  rather  hungry,  having  had  no  dinner  to  speak  of. 
Hullo,  I  say,  look  here.     Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you 


240  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

are  fool  enough  to  keep  our  photographs  in  our  very- 
last  disguise  ?  " 

Something  like  an  oath  broke  from  Sartoris  as  he 
glanced  at  Beatrice.  The  girl  could  not  control  herself 
for  the  moment;  she  could  not  hide  from  Sartoris  and 
the  others  that  she  knew  now  that  she  was  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Countess  de  la  Moray  and  General  Gastang  in 
their  proper  person. 

"  Those  are  not  your  photographs  at  all,"  Sartoris 
croaked.  "  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  only  got  them  from 
Paris  to-day.     If  you  will " 

The  speaker  paused  as  Beatrice  was  stepping  towards 
the  door.  All  of  them  realised  that  she  knew  every- 
thing. Sartoris  made  a  sign  and  the  man  Reggie 
stood  between  Beatrice  and  the  door. 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

SOMEBODY  was  knocking  quietly  at  the  door,  and 
Sartoris  had  made  no  effort  to  move.  That  was 
the  situation  in  which  we  left  Sartoris  and  Berrington 
before  Beatrice  came.  Nobody  could  have  failed  to 
notice  that  he  was  greatly  disturbed  and  agitated.  With 
a  feeling  that  he  was  going  to  learn  something,  Ber- 
rington turned  as  if  to  leave  the  room. 

"  I  am  going  to  save  you  the  trouble  of  going,"  he 
said. 

Sartoris  clasped  his  hands  to  his  head.  He  was 
still  throbbing  and  aching  all  over  from  the  ill  effect 
of  the  treatment  accorded  him  by  the  Burmese  visitors. 
Berrington  had  come  down  in  the  nick  of  time  and 
saved  him  from  a  terrible  fate,  but  Sartoris  was  not 
feeling  in  the  least  grateful.  To  a  certain  extent  he 
was  between  the  devil  and  the  deep  sea.  Desperately  as 
he  was  situated  now,  he  could  not  afford  to  dismiss 
Berrington  altogether.  To  do  that  would  be  to  bring 
the  authorities  down  upon  him  in  double  quick  time. 
True,  Berrington,  out  of  his  deep  affection  for  Mary, 
might  give  him  as  much  rope  as  possible.  And  again, 
.Sartoris  did  not  quite  know  how  far  Berrington  was 
posted  as  to  the  recent  course  of  events.  True,  Ber- 
rington suspected  him  of  knowing  something  of  the 
disappearance  of  the  body  of  £>ir  Charles,  but  Sartoris 
did  not  see  that  he  could  prove  anything. 

But  he  did  not  want  Berrington  to  go  just  yet,  and 

16  241 


242  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

he  was  still  more  anxious  that  the  Colonel  should  not 
know  who  was  knocking  at  the  door.  Unless  his  calcu- 
lations were  very  wide  of  the  mark,  it  was  Beatrice 
Richford  who  was  seeking  admission.  Sartoris  would 
have  given  much  to  prevent  those  two  meeting. 

He  smiled,  though  he  was  beside  himself,  almost, 
with  passion.  He  seemed  to  have  become  very  weak 
and  impotent  all  at  once.  He  would  have  to  simulate 
an  emotion  that  he  did  not  possess.  Once  more  there 
came  the  timid  knock  at  the  door. 

"  Berrington,"  he  said  desperately.  "  Do  you  be- 
lieve that  there  is  any  good  in  me  ? " 

The  question  was  asked  in  almost  a  pleading  voice. 
But  Berrington  was  not  in  the  least  moved.  He  knew 
perfectly  well  what  he  had  to  deal  with.  Again,  the 
knock  at  the  door. 

"  I  should  say  not  a  fragment,"  Berrington  said 
critically.  "  I  should  say  that  you  are  utterly  bad 
to  the  core.  I  have  just  saved  you  from  a  terrible 
fate  which  really  ought  to  be  a  source  of  the  greatest 
possible  regret  to  me,  but  you  are  not  in  the  least 
grateful.  When  that  knock  came  for  the  first  time,  you 
looked  at  me  with  murder  in  your  eyes.  I  am  in  your 
way  now,  I  am  possibly  on  the  verge  of  an  important 
discovery.  If  you  could  kill  me  with  one  look  and 
destroy  my  body  with  another  you  would  do  it  with- 
out hesitation.  And  that  is  the  reason,  my  good  friend, 
why  I  am  going  to  the  door." 

"  Don't,"  Sartoris  implored.  He  had  become  mild 
and  pleading.  "  You  are  quite  wrong  —  Berrington ; 
I  once  heard  you  say  that  there  was  good  in  every- 
body." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  243 

"  Generally,"  Berrington  admitted.  "  But  you  are 
an  exception  that  proves  the  rule." 

"  Indeed  I  am  not.  There  is  good  in  me.  I  tell 
you  and  I  am  going  to  do  a  kind  and  disinterested 
action  to-night.  I  swear  that  if  you  interfere  you 
will  be  the  cause  of  great  unhappiness  in  a  certain 
household  in  which  I  am  interested.  I  implore  you 
not  to  let  your  idle  curiosity  bring  about  this  thing. 
I  appeal  to  you  as  a  gentleman." 

In  spite  of  himself  Berrington  was  touched.  He 
had  never  regarded  Sartoris  as  anything  of  an  actor, 
and  he  seemed  to  be  in  deadly  earnest  now.  Was  it 
just  possible  that  the  man  had  it  in  him  to  do  a  kindly 
thing?  If  so  it  seemed  a  pity  to  thwart  him.  Ber- 
rington looked  fairly  and  squarely  into  the  eyes  of 
the  speaker,  but  they  did  not  waver  in  the  least.  The 
expression  of  Sartoris's  face  was  one  of  hopelessness, 
not  free  altogether  from  contempt. 

"  I  can't  say  any  more,"  he  said.  "  Open  the  door 
by  all  means,  and  spoil  everything.  It  is  in  your 
hands  to  do  so  and  curse  your  own  vulgar  curiosity 
afterwards.  Call  me  mad  if  you  like,  but  I  had 
planned  to  do  a  kind  thing  to-night." 

"  So  that  you  may  benefit  from  it  in  the  end  ? " 
Berrington  suggested. 

"  Well,  put  it  that  way  if  you  like,"  Sartoris  said 
with  fine  indifference.  "  But  it  does  not  matter.  You 
can  sit  down  again.     The  knocker  has  gone,  evidently." 

But  the  door  sounded  again.  Sartoris  turned  aside 
with  a  sigh.  Despite  his  suspicions,  Berrington  felt 
that  his  conscience  was  troubling  him.  He  would 
never  forgive  himself  if  he  prevented  a  kind  action 


244  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

being  done  to  one  who  cruelly  needed  it.  He  rose  and 
crossed  the  room. 

"  Let  it  be  as  you  like,"  he  said.  "  I  will  promise 
not  to  interfere.  As  soon  as  you  have  finished  I  should 
like  to  have  a  few  words  with  you  here.  After  that 
I  shall  feel  free  to  depart." 

Sartoris  nodded,  but  the  triumph  that  filled  him 
found  no  expression  on  his  face.  Berrington  was  no 
better  than  a  fool,  after  all;  a  few  fair  words  had 
disarmed  him.  Sartoris  would  gain  all  he  wanted  and 
when  that  was  done  he  would  take  good  care  that 
Berrington  did  not  leave  the  house.  The  man  was 
by  no  means  at  the  end  of  his  cunning  resources  yet. 
He  moved  his  chair  in  the  direction  of  the  hall. 

"  You  have  made  a  very  wise  decision,"  he  said. 
"  And  I  thank  you  for  having  some  confidence  in  me. 
Will  you  wait  for  me  in  the  dining-room  ? " 

Berrington  intimated  that  he  would  go  into  the  din- 
ing-room and  smoke  a  cigar.  He  was  free  to  depart 
now,  but  he  was  going  to  do  nothing  of  the  kind. 
Sartoris  was  likely  to  be  engaged  for  some  time,  and 
meanwhile  Berrington  was  able  to  make  investigations. 
He  was  desirous  of  finding  out  the  secret  of  the  dining- 
room,  the  way  in  which  things  were  charged  there,  and 
the  like.  Of  course,  it  had  all  been  done  by  human 
agency,  and  what  one  man  can  invent  another  can  find 
out.  There  was  not  likely  to  be  a  more  favourable 
opportunity. 

Berrington  stepped  into  the  dining-room  and  closed 
the  door  behind  him.  But  he  closed  it  with  his  hand 
hard  on  the  turned  lock  so  that  it  should  sound  as  if 
it  had  banged  to,  whereas,  directly  the  handle  was 
released  it  would  fall  open  a  little  way.     Berrington 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  245 

was  not  going  to  leave  anything  to  chance,  and  he  had 
no  hesitation  in  playing  the  spy. 

From  where  he  stood  he  could  hear  the  wheels  of 
Sartoris's  chair  rattling  over  the  parquet  flooring  of 
the  hall,  he  heard  the  front  door  open,  and  the  timid 
voice  of  a  girl  speaking.  It  did  not  sound  like  the 
voice  of  anybody  with  evil  intent,  and  just  for  an  in- 
stant it  occurred  to  Berrington  that  perhaps  his  sus- 
picions had  been  misplaced. 

But  only  for  an  instant,  until  the  voice  spoke  again. 
He  had  no  difficulty  now  in  recognising  the  voice  as 
that  of  Beatrice  Richford.  Berrington  was  a  little  stag- 
gered, for  he  had  not  expected  this.  He  had  totally 
forgotten  the  letter,  but  it  came  flashing  back  to  his 
mind  now,  and  Mary's  promise  that  no  harm  should 
come  of  it. 

And  yet  Mary  had  either  overestimated  her  powers 
or  placed  too  low  a  value  on  the  cunning  of  her  brother. 
At  any  rate,  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  the 
letter  had  been  delivered,  and  that  Beatrice  was  here 
in  reply  to  it. 

"  Very  good,"  Berrington  said  between  his  teeth. 
"  I  will  see  that  no  harm  comes  of  this  thing.  Beatrice 
has  been  brought  here  to  be  pumped  as  to  her  father's 
papers  and  the  like.  Still,  thanks  to  my  little  adven- 
ture to-night  I  have  a  pretty  good  idea  what  these 
scoundrels  are  after.  I  '11  just  go  as  far  as  the  study 
and  see  that  it  is  all  right." 

Berrington  slipped  off  his  boots  and  crept  along  the 
hall.  So  far  as  he  could  see  all  was  quiet.  There 
was  a  double  door  to  the  study,  so  that  Berrington 
could  not  hear  much,  but  the  inner  door  had  not  been 


246  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

closed.  It  was  only  necessary  to  swing  back  the  baize 
door  to  hear  all  that  was  taking  place  in  the  study. 

But  Berrington  decided  that  he  would  leave  that 
for  the  present.  It  mattered  very  little  what  Sartoris 
said  to  Beatrice,  for  the  gist  of  the  conversation  could 
easily  be  gathered  from  the  girl  on  some  future  oc- 
casion. But  opportunities  for  examining  that  strange 
dining-room  did  not  offer  themselves  at  every  hour, 
and  Berrington  made  up  his  mind  to  make  the  best  of 
it.     He  pulled  on  his  boots  again,  and  set  to  work. 

For  some  time  there  was  nothing  to  reward  his 
search.  The  carpet  appeared  to  be  intact,  the  table 
a  solid  structure  of  mahogany.  And  yet  there  must 
be  some  means  of  moving  that  table  up  and  down, 
much  in  the  same  way  as  the  thing  used  to  be  done 
in  the  case  of  a  certain  French  king  and  the  lady 
of  his  affections. 

But  there  was  absolutely  nothing  here  to  show  that 
anything  of  the  kind  had  been  done.  Berrington  re- 
moved the  flowers  and  the  table  cloth  and  looked  under- 
neath. So  far  without  success.  He  rapped  in  a  re- 
flective way  on  the  solid  legs  and  they  gave  back  a  clear 
ringing  sound.  With  a  smile  of  satisfaction,  Berring- 
ton took  a  pocket  knife  from  his  vest. 

Then  he  bent  down  and  slightly  scraped  one  of  the 
solid-looking  legs.  The  edge  of  the  knife  turned  up 
and  a  thin  strip  of  bright  gold  showed  beneath  the 
vanish.  The  first  discovery  had  been  made.  The  legs 
of  the  table  were  of  hollow  metal. 

There  was  something  to  go  on  with  at  any  rate. 
Dining  tables  do  not  have  legs  made  of  hollow  metal 
for  nothing.  Berrington  tried  to  push  the  table  aside, 
so  that  he  could  tilt  it  up  and  see  the  base  of  the  legs, 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  247 

but  the  structure  refused  to  budge  an  inch.  Here  was 
discovery  number  two.  The  table  was  bolted  solidly 
into  the  floor. 

"  We  are  getting  on,"  Berrington  whispered  to  him- 
self. "  It  seems  to  me  that  I  need  not  worry  myself 
any  further  about  the  table  itself,  seeing  that,  so  to 
speak,  it  is  attached  to  the  freehold.  It  is  the  floor 
that  I  have  to  look  to." 

But  the  floor  appeared  to  be  quite  intact.  There 
were  no  seams  along  the  Turkey  carpet.  Berrington 
turned  the  carpet  back  as  far  as  it  would  go,  but  noth- 
ing suspicious  presented  itself  to  his  searching  eye. 
As  he  dropped  the  carpet  back  his  foot  touched  the 
curb  of  the  fireplace,  and  one  end  slid  along.  It 
seemed  a  curious  thing  that  one  end  of  the  old  oak 
curb  should  work  on  a  pivot,  but  so  it  did,  and  Ber- 
rington pushed  it  as  far  as  it  would  go.  An  instant 
later  and  he  jumped  nimbly  into  the  fireplace. 

It  was  just  as  well  he  did  so,  for  the  whole  floor 
was  slowly  fading  away,  just  up  to  the  edge  of  the 
carpet,  leaving  the  brown  boards  around  intact.  By 
accident  more  than  anything  else  Berrington  had  stum- 
bled on  the  secret.  The  pressure  of  a  foot  on  the  curb 
had  set  some  hidden  lever  in  motion;  the  clever  ma- 
chinery was  doing  the  rest. 

Standing  in  the  fireplace  Berrington  watched  for 
the  effect.  The  floor  sank  away  as  if  working  on  a 
pivot;  it  came  around  with  the  other  side  up,  and  on 
the  other  side  was  a  carpet  quite  similar  to  the  first 
in  pattern.  There  was  also  another  table  which  came 
up  on  a  swinging  balance  so  that  everything  on  it  would 
not  be  disturbed. 

"  Well,  this  is  a  pretty  fine  Arabian  Nights'  form 


248  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

of  entertainment,"  Berrington  muttered.  "  I  wonder 
if  I  can  keep  the  thing  half  suspended  like  that  whilst 
I  examine  the  vault  beneath.  I  suppose  if  I  push  the 
lever  half  back  it  will  remain  stationary.  That 's  it ! 
The  lever  being  pushed  half  back  caused  the  machinery 
to  lock  so  that  the  floor  was  all  on  the  slant.  There 
was  a  kind  of  space  below  which  appeared  to  be  paved 
and  bricked  like  a  well.  Into  this  the  full  rays  of  the 
electric  light  shone.  It  was  easy  to  jump  down  there 
and  examine  the  place,  and  Berrington  proceeded  to 
do  so. 

So  far  as  he  could  see  there  was  a  heap  of  old 
clothes  huddled  together  in  a  corner.  In  an  idle  way 
Berrington  turned  them  over.  A  collar  fell  out  from 
the  rest  and  Berrington  took  it  up  —  a  white  collar  that 
had  been  worn  for  some  little  time.  Berrington  started 
as  his  eye  fell  on  the  name  plainly  set  out  in  marking 
ink. 

"Great  Scott,"  he  cried.  "Why  it  is  one  of  Sir 
Charles  Darryll's !  " 


CHAPTEE  XXXII 

BERRINGTON  was  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  to  he 
pleased  or  not  at  his  discovery.  It  might  prove 
to  be  an  important  clue,  on  the  other  hand  it  might 
point  to  more  violence  than  Berrington  had  anticipated. 
It  was  not  an  old  collar,  as  Berrington  could  see  by 
the  date  of  it;  apparently  it  had  only  been  worn  once, 
for  there  was  no  laundry  mark  upon  it,  though  it  was 
dirty,  more  dirty  than  a  fastidious  man  like  Sir  Charles 
would  have  used. 

There  was  absolutely  nothing  further  to  be  seen  in 
the  vault,  so  Berrington  climbed  thoughtfully  out  of 
it  again.  He  readjusted  the  floor,  for  he  had  no  wish 
for  his  handiwork  to  remain.  He  would  wait  now 
for  Beatrice  to  emerge  and  see  her  safely  on  her  way 
home.  A  little  later  on,  perhaps,  and  he  would  have 
a  great  deal  of  useful  information  to  impart  to  In- 
spector Field. 

He  opened  the  door  of  the  dining-room  and  listened. 
It  seemed  to  him  that  the  voices  in  the  study  had  been 
raised  a  little.  If  he  could  give  Beatrice  a  warning  he 
would  do  so.  Very  quietly  he  pushed  back  the  swing- 
ing baize  door  and  looked  in.  At  the  same  moment 
Beatrice  was  adjusting  her  hat  before  the  mirror. 
Their  eyes  met  and  Berrington  was  satisfied.  He  had 
told  Beatrice  as  plainly  as  if  he  had  spoken  in  words, 
that  he  was  close  by  and  that  she  was  to  look  to  him 

249 


250  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

for  protection  if  necessary.  That  being  so,  he  crept 
silently  away  again. 

It  was  a  wise  precaution,  for  the  front  door  opened 
and  two  people  came  in,  giving  Berrington  hardly 
time  to  get  in  the  shelter  of  the  dining-room.  He  was 
at  no  loss  to  identify  the  newcomers,  for  had  he  not 
met  them  in  that  very  room  when  he  had  discovered 
the  gang  who  were  more  or  less  instrumental  in  the 
disappearance  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll  ? 

That  the  precious  pair  were  after  no  good,  needed 
no  saying.  Berrington  grimly  congratulated  himself 
on  the  fact  that  Sartoris  had  provided  him  with  a 
weapon  which  was  in  his  pocket  at  the  very  moment. 
He  would  lounge  in  the  vicinity  of  the  study,  and  if 
anything  happened,  if  Beatrice  called  out  for  assistance 
or  anything  of  that  kind,  he  would  be  in  a  position  to 
render  efficient  service.  It  was  no  part  of  his  game  to 
show  himself  to  these  people  without  urgent  reasons  for 
so  doing. 

He  waited  there  while  Beatrice  was  confronting  the 
trio;  she  had  made  her  discovery,  and  the  others  were 
aware  of  the  fact.  Beatrice  was  conscious  that  her 
heart  was  beating  faster.  She  looked  around  for  some 
avenue  of  escape.  Then  her  courage  rose  again  as  she 
remembered  that  Berrington  was  close  at  hand  and 
ready  to  assist  her. 

"  I  will  not  stay  here  any  longer,"  the  girl  said.  "  It 
seems  to  me  that  I  am  in  the  way.  Please  to  step  aside 
and  let  me  pass.     Do  you  hear  me  ?  " 

The  man  called  Reggie  grinned.  He  did  not  make 
the  smallest  attempt  to  move  from  the  door.  He  would 
have  touched  Beatrice  had  she  not  drawn  back. 

"  I  do  not  desire  to  detain  you,"  he  said.     "  Only 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  251 

you  made  a  certain  remark  just  now  that  calls  for 
an  explanation.  You  mean  that  this  lady  and  my- 
self  " 

"  You  know  exactly  what  I  mean/'  Beatrice  cried. 
She  was  getting  angry  now,  and  the  sneering  smile  on 
the  face  of  Sartoris  did  not  tend  to  soothe  her.  "  Out 
of  your  own  mouth  you  have  proved  what  I  did  not 
know  — ■  that  you  are  dangerous  thieves." 

"  Oh,  indeed.  Do  you  not  know  that  such  language 
is  actionable  ? " 

"  I  know  that  it  is  true,"  Beatrice  said  coldly. 
"  There  are  your  photographs  up  there.  Did  you  not 
say  so  only  a  moment  ago  ?  I  am  greatly  obliged  for 
the  information." 

The  girl  stepped  across  the  room  and  removed  the 
two  photographs  from  their  places.  Nobody  interfered ; 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were  all  secretly  admiring  the 
girl's  courage. 

"  These  two  faces  I  know,"  she  said.  "  That  is 
Countess  de  la  Moray,  and  that  is  the  man  who  called 
himself  General  Gastang.  They  were  staying  at  the 
hotel  on  the  night  that  my  poor  dear  father's  body  so 
strangely  disappeared.  The  Countess  was  so  good  as 
to  extend  to  me  her  deepest  sympathy ;  she  asked  me  to 
go  and  stay  with  her  in  Paris." 

The  woman  called  Cora  laughed.  The  comedy  of  it 
appealed  to  her  and  she  could  not  help  it.  She  was 
thinking  of  the  easy  way  in  which  she  had  deceived 
Beatrice.  Something  like  an  oath  came  from  Sartoris. 
He  had  his  own  very  good  reasons  why  Beatrice  should 
be  deceived  in  this  matter. 

"  I  assure  you  that  you  are  quite  mistaken,"  he  said. 

"  Indeed  I  am  nothing  of  the  kind,"  Beatrice  cried. 


252  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Now  that  I  know  the  truth,  I  can  see  the  likeness 
plainly  enough.  I  don't  say  that  I  should  have  done 
so  had  I  not  had  so  strong  a  hint  a  little  while  ago,  but 
you  cannot  disguise  features  out  of  recognition.  And  I 
say  that  those  two  people  are  no  more  than  vulgar  swin- 
dlers." 

Again  the  woman  laughed,  but  the  man's  face  grew 
dark. 

"  You  are  very  bold,"  the  man  called  Reggie  growled. 
"  If  you  have  any  friends  near  — • — " 

It  was  on  the  tip  of  Beatrice's  tongue  to  say  that  she 
had,  but  she  wisely  restrained  herself.  At  the  same 
time  it  was  good  to  be  reminded  that  Berrington  was 
close  by  and  that  perhaps  he  was  listening  to  the  con- 
versation at  the  present  moment. 

"  I  am  stating  no  more  than  the  truth,"  Beatrice  went 
on.  "  The  so-called  Countess  came  to  me  and  she  pre- 
tended sympathy.  She  made  me  believe  that  she  was 
an  old  friend  of  my  father.  Then  she  went  away,  leav- 
ing General  Gastang  to  talk  to  me.  I  will  tell  you 
presently  what  she  was  going  to  do.  I  have  been  find- 
ing out  things  for  myself." 

The  woman  did  not  laugh  this  time;  there  was  an 
angry  spot  on  either  cheek. 

"  You  are  piquante  and  interesting,"  she  said. 
"  Pray  believe  that  I  am  listening  to  you  with  the  deep- 
est attention.  It  is  good  to  have  one's  thoughts  read 
for  one  in  this  fashion." 

"  I  was  alone  with  the  General,"  said  Beatrice,  ignor- 
ing the  last  speaker  altogether.  "  Fortunately  for  me, 
the  General  recognized  some  acquaintance  —  probably 
a  police  officer  —  for  he  disappeared  discreetly  and  left 
me  to  myself  and  my  suspicions.     My  suspicions  led 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  253 

me  to  my  bedroom  presently,  where  I  had  left  some 
extremely  valuable  diamonds." 

"  The  same  that  you  have  in  your  pocket  at  the  pres- 
ent moment,"  the  woman  Cora  exclaimed.     "  If " 

A  furious  oath  rang  out  from  the  man  Reggie.  Just 
for  a  moment  it  looked  as  if  he  were  about  to  strike  the 
incautious  speaker.  She  reddened  and  grew  confused. 
Sartoris  listened,  with  an  evil  grin  on  his  face.  He 
seemed  to  be  amused  at  something. 

"  It  is  good  of  my  friends  to  come  here  to-night,"  he 
said.  "  So  kind  and  disinterested.  I  shall  know  how 
to  thank  them  later  on.    Pray  proceed." 

"  In  my  bedroom  was  the  Countess,"  Beatrice  cried. 
She  was  so  staggered  to  find  that  her  possession  of  the 
gems  was  known  to  this  couple  that  she  could  hardly 
proceed.  "  The  Countess  had  evidently  been  overhaul- 
ing my  belongings.     But  I  was  just  in  time." 

"  Call  me  a  thief  at  once,"  the  woman  burst  out  furi- 
ously.    "  Why  don't  you  do  it  ?  " 

"  As  yet  I  have  no  legal  proofs  to  justify  me  in  so 
doing,"  Beatrice  said.  "  But  I  have  not  the  least  doubt 
in  my  own  mind.  You  were  good  enough  to  come  back 
and  pretend  that  your  maid  was  ill,  and  you  were  good 
enough  to  let  me  smell  that  scent,  so  that  you  gave  me 
a  sleep  that  rendered  me  insensible  to  the  strange  things 
that  were  taking  place  so  near  me." 

u  You  seem  to  know  a  great  deal,"  the  woman  Cora 
sneered. 

"  Indeed  I  do,"  Beatrice  went  on.  "  I  know  that 
you  were  in  my  bedroom  planning  some  villainy  with 
my  husband ;  I  know  that  you  took  wax  impressions  of 
the  seals  of  my  father's  room ;  I  know  the  part  you  both 
played  afterwards.     Then  you  disappeared,  leaving  no 


254  THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE 

signs  behind.  But  you  have  been  so  kind  as  to  confess 
your  own  identity.  You  will  be  well  advised  to  stand 
aside  and  let  me  pass." 

Just  for  a  moment  it  looked  as  if  Beatrice's  audacity 
was  going  to  carry  her  through.  But  it  was  Sartoris 
who  interfered  this  time.  His  face  had  grown  black; 
he  had  thrown  aside  all  traces  of  amiability  now. 

"  You  are  a  very  clever  young  lady,"  he  said  with  a 
dry  sneer.  "  A  most  exceedingly  and  remarkably  clever 
young  lady.  But  you  are  too  proud  of  your  discoveries, 
you  talk  too  much.  You  see,  these  good  people  are 
friends  of  mine." 

"  I  know  that,"  Beatrice  retorted.  "  But  one  thing 
I  am  certain  of  —  had  you  known  what  was  going  to 
happen,  those  photographs  would  never  have  been  left 
for  me  to  see.  You  need  not  have  been  under  the  neces- 
sity of  lying  about  them,  and  I  should  have  gone  away, 
never  dreaming  that  I  had  met  the  Countess  and  the 
General  again." 

"  Do  I  understand  that  you  drag  me  into  your 
charge  ?  "  Sartoris  demanded  angrily. 

"  Certainly  I  do,"  Beatrice  cried.  Her  blood  was  up 
now;  anger  had  got  the  better  of  discretion.  She  was 
furious  to  feel  that  she  had  been  lured  into  a  den  of 
swindlers,  and  so  all  her  sagacity  and  prudence  had 
gone  to  the  winds.  "  Those  people  are  accomplices  of 
yours;  the  very  lie  that  you  told  me  proves  the  fact. 
And  you,  the  lame  man  in  the  hansom  cab " 

Beatrice  got  no  further,  for  a  howl  of  rage  from  Sar- 
toris prevented  more  words.  The  cripple  wheeled  his 
chair  across  the  room  and  barred  the  door. 

"  You  shall  pay  for  this,"  he  said  furiously.  "  You 
know  too  much.     That  anybody  should  dare  to  stand 


THE  SLAVE  OE  SILENCE              255 
there  before  me  and  say  what  you  have  said  to  me " 


He  seemed  to  be  incapable  of  further  speech.  The 
man  called  Reggie  bent  over  Beatrice  and  whispered 
something  in  her  ear.  She  caught  the  words  mechan- 
ically   

"  Give  me  what  you  have  in  your  pocket,"  he  said, 
"  and  I  will  see  you  through.  Don't  hesitate  —  what 
are  a  few  paltry  diamonds  compared  with  your  life  ? 
For  that  is  in  danger,  and  far  greater  danger  than  you 
know.     Pass  those  stones  over,  quick." 

But  Beatrice  was  not  going  to  be  bullied  like  that. 
Above  all  things  —  the  knowledge  stood  out  before  her 
that  Berrington  was  not  far  off.  She  had  only  to  call 
for  assistance,  and  he  would  be  by  her  side  at  once. 
The  girl's  eyes  dilated,  but  not  with  fear  as  the  man 
imagined. 

i:  I  am  not  so  helpless  as  you  imagine,"  Beatrice  said. 
i:  And  you  will  never  get  what  you  want  unless  you 
resort  to  violence.    Now  you  understand  me." 

The  man  smiled.  He  had  an  eye  for  beauty  and 
courage,  rogue  though  he  was.  But  he  had  to  reckon 
with  Sartoris,  who  seemed  to  be  recovering  his  self- 
possession. 

"  What  are  you  muttering  about  ?  "  he  asked  suspi- 
ciously.   "  Ah,  what  was  that  ?    Did  you  hear  it  ?  " 

The  trio  stood  listening,  quivering  with  excitement, 
tense  in  every  limb.  With  a  loud  cry  Beatrice  flung 
herself  at  the  door  and  beat  upon  it  madly. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

FIELD  stood  in  the  office  of  the  Inland  Revenue  at 
Wandsworth  with  a  feeling  that  he  had  got  on 
the  right  track  at  last.  And  yet  this  discovery,  which 
he  had  no  reason  to  doubt,  opened  up  the  strangest  pos- 
sibilities before  him.  He  was  face  to  face  with  a  the- 
ory that  staggered  him  so  greatly  that  he  could  not  speak 
for  a  moment.  And  yet  he  wondered  why  the  idea  had 
not  occurred  to  him  before. 

"  I  suppose  that  you  have  not  made  any  mistake  %  " 
he  suggested. 

The  clerk  was  properly  indignant.  He  was  not  there 
for  the  purpose  of  making  mistakes,  besides,  he  had  all 
the  particulars  entered  in  his  books. 

"  So  that  you  can  see  for  yourself,"  he  said.  "  Look 
here,  if  you  doubt  me.  The  entries  tally  absolutely  with 
the  figures  you  have  on  that  slip  of  paper.  If  there  is 
anything  wrong " 

"  There  is  something  very  wrong  indeed,"  Field  ad- 
mitted, "  but  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  you.  Do  you 
do  a  large  business  in  that  kind  of  stamped  paper  ?  " 

"  Well,  rather,  though  not  so  large  as  we  did.  You 
see,  those  stamped  deeds  are  exclusively  used  by  solic- 
itors; practically,  every  legal  document  is  a  stamped 
paper.  But,  nowadays,  a  good  many  lawyers  get  their 
deeds  engrossed  on  plain  paper  and  send  them  to  me  to 
be  forwarded  to  Somerset  House  for  the  stamping." 

"  I  see,"  Field  said,  thoughtfully.  "  In  that  case, 
256 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  257 

you  would  have  less  difficulty  in  recognizing  anybody 
who  purchased  a  parchment  that  was  already  stamped  ? 
I  wonder  if  you  recognized  the  man  who  bought  the 
one  we  are  talking  about  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  came  the  ready  reply.  "  The  man's  name 
is  Acton.  He  is  a  law  stationer  who  does  odd  jobs  for 
the  different  firms  here.  He  is  quite  broken  down  and 
shabby  now,  but  I  should  say  that  at  one  time  he  was  a 
gentleman.  You  will  see  his  business  card  hanging  in 
a  shop  window  at  the  corner  of  Preston  Street  —  a  lit- 
tle news-shop  on  the  right." 

"  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you,"  Field  said.  "  I  see 
the  stamp  is  a  two  pound  ten  one.  Was  it  paid  for  in 
cash  or  in  the  form  of  a  note  ? " 

"  A  note  —  a  £5  Bank  of  England  note.  I  recollect 
getting  Acton  to  endorse  it." 

Field  smiled  to  himself.  Everything  seemed  to  be 
going  in  his  favour  now.  He  tendered  five  sovereigns 
across  the  counter  and  asked  the  favour  of  the  £5  note 
in  exchange,  which  was  granted.  The  note  had  a  blue 
stamp  on  it  to  the  effect  that  it  had  been  issued  by  the 
Wandsworth  Branch  of  the  National  and  Counties 
Bank,  and  to  that  establishment  Field  wended  his  way. 

There  a  further  piece  of  information  awaited  him. 
The  note  had  been  paid  out  the  day  before  to  a  messen- 
ger who  had  come  from  No.  100,  Audley  Place,  with  a 
cheque  drawn  in  favour  of  "  self  "  by  Mr.  Carl  Sar- 
toris.  Field  could  not  repress  a  chuckle.  Everything 
was  going  on  as  smoothly  as  he  could  expect. 

"  And  now  for  Mr.  Acton,"  he  said  to  himself.     "  I 

wonder  if  I  dare  build  my  hopes  upon  the  theory  that 

Sir  Charles  is  —  but  that  is  out  of  the  question.     Still, 

there  is  that  doctor  fellow  with  his  marvellous  knowl- 

17 


258  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

edge  of  Eastern  mysteries.  Hang  me  if  I  don't  start 
from  that  hypothesis  when  I  've  got  this  thing  through." 

It  was  an  easy  matter  to  trace  Acton.  Eield  found 
him  in  a  dingy  bed-sitting-room,  smoking  vile  tobacco 
and  eagerly  reading  a  sporting  paper.  The  occupant 
of  the  room  turned  colour  when  he  caught  sight  of  his 
visitor.  The  recognition  was  mutual,  but  Field  did  not 
commit  himself  beyond  a  faint  smile. 

"I  —  I  hope  there  is  nothing  wrong,"  the  occupant 
of  the  room  stammered. 

"  That  entirely  depends  upon  you,"  Eield  replied. 
"  So  long  as  you  tell  the  truth " 

"  I  '11  tell  you  nothing  else,"  Acton  said.  He  had 
risen  now  and  was  standing  with  his  back  to  the  fire,  a 
tall  man  with  a  pale  face  and  mournful  eyes.  "  Look 
here,  Field,  thero  is  no  use  playing  with  the  fact  that 
you  and  I  have  met  before.  I  was  in  a  very  different 
position  then.  Now  I  am  a  broken  man  with  no  ambi- 
tion beyond  a  wish  to  live  honestly  and  to  keep  out  of 
sight  of  my  friends.  I  write  a  good  hand,  as  you  know. 
I  have  served  my  time  for  forgery.  But  since  that  I 
have  never  done  anything  that  is  in  the  least  wrong." 

The  speaker's  words  carried  conviction  with  them. 

"  I  am  quite  prepared  to  believe  it,  Mr.  Acton," 
Field  said.  "  All  I  want  is  a  little  information.  Tell 
me,  have  you  done  more  than  one  piece  of  work  lately  ?  " 

"  No.  Only  one.  And  that  was  just  after  ten  o'clock 
to-day.  A  gentleman  came  to  me  and  said  he  was  a 
lawyer  who  was  just  setting  up  here." 

"  What  sort  of  man  was  he  ?  "  Field  asked. 

"  Young  and  fair,  with  an  easy  assurance  and  man- 
ner. He  had  taken  a  house  in  Park  Road  —  name  of 
Walters.    There  is  a  kind  of  annex  to  the  house  that  at 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  259 

one  time  had  been  used  for  a  billiard-room,  and  this 
was  to  be  his  office.  I  called  upon  the  gentleman  there 
by  appointment.  I  didn't  go  into  the  house  proper, 
but  I  saw  that  the  blinds  and  curtains  were  up.  The 
gentleman  gave  me  a  £5  note  and  asked  me  to  go  to  the 
Inland  Revenue  Office  here  and  get  a  £2  10s.  stamp  on 
a  skin  of  parchment.  When  I  got  back  he  dictated  a 
deed  to  me  which  I  copied  down  for  him." 

"  Do  you  recollect  what  it  was  about  %  "  Field  asked. 

"  Well,  sir,  I  don't,  except  that  it  was  some  kind  of 
assignment.  The  names  I  quite  forget.  You  see,  one 
gets  to  be  rather  like  a  machine  doing  that  kind  of 
work.  The  gentleman  paid  me  seven  shillings  for  my 
trouble  and  asked  me  to  call  upon  him  again." 

"  And  is  that  all  you  have  to  tell  me  ? "  Field 
asked. 

"  Everything,  Mr.  Field,"  Acton  said.  "  I  hope  that 
you  will  not  think  there  is  anything " 

"  Not  so  far  as  you  are  concerned,  certainly,"  Field 
hastened  to  say.  "  I  have  only  one  more  question  to 
ask.  Try  and  polish  up  your  memory.  Was  there  any 
date  inserted  in  that  deed  ? " 

"  I  can  answer  that  question  without  the  slightest 
hesitation.     There  was  no  date  inserted  in  the  deed." 

"  'Urn.  The  thing  was  so  unusual  that  you  were 
quite  struck  by  the  fact  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all.  Dates  are  never  inserted  in  engrossed 
deeds.  They  are  left  blank  as  to  the  day  and  the  year. 
You  see,  there  is  so  much  delay  in  the  law.  Sometimes 
the  deeds  are  not  executed  for  months  after  they  are 
signed.  If  the  date  was  filled  in  and  a  delay  of  two 
months  took  place,  a  new  stamp  would  have  to  be  pur- 
chased, and  that  means  dead  loss.    Whereas  if  the  date 


260  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

is  not  put  in  till  the  deed  is  signed,  that  expense  is 
saved." 

Field  nodded  his  head  in  the  manner  of  a  man  who 
is  getting  satisfaction  for  his  trouble. 

"  Then  the  date  was  no  doing  of  yours,"  he  said. 
"  I  fancy  I  '11  run  around  and  see  the  young  lawyer 
friend  of  yours.  After  that  I  may  have  to  ask  you  to 
accompany  me  to  town.  There  is  nothing  for  you  to 
do  besides  identifying  your  own  handwriting.  Don't 
go  out  till  I  come  back." 

Field  hurried  off  to  Park  Road  where  at  length  he 
found  the  house  that  he  wanted.  The  curtains  and 
blinds  were  up  in  the  windows,  but  no  amount  of  knock- 
ing seemed  to  arouse  anybody  inside.  Not  that  Field 
was  disappointed,  for  he  had  expected  something  like 
this.  A  few  inquiries  elicited  the  fact  that  the  house 
was  in  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Porden  &  Co.,  down  the 
street,  and  thither  the  inspector  repaired.  Nobody  had 
taken  the  house,  he  gathered,  though  a  few  people  had 
been  after  it, 

"  Have  you  had  anybody  to-day  ?  "  Field  asked.  "  I 
mean  early  to-day  ?  A  tall,  fair  man  with  pleasant 
manners  who  gave  the  name  of  Walters  ? " 

"  Well,  yes,"  the  house-agent  admitted.  "  He  came 
and  asked  for  the  keys ;  he  left  a  card  on  my  table,  and 
here  it  is.  It  was  early  when  he  came,  and  the  boy 
was  the  only  one  in  charge  of  the  office,  so  that  the  gen- 
tleman had  to  go  over  the  house  by  himself." 

"  He  found  that  it  did  not  suit  him  ?  "  Field  sug- 
gested drily. 

"  No,  he  said  it  was  too  big  for  his  requirements. 
He  brought  the  keys  back  two  hours  later." 

"  And  didn't  ask  for  any  more,  though  you  offered 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  261 

him  the  choice  of  many  houses  ?  "  Field  smiled.  "  But 
what  about  the  blinds  and  curtains  in  the  windows !  " 

"  Oh,  they  belonged  to  the  previous  tenant.  You 
see,  we  had  to  put  in  an  execution  there  for  rent.  The 
landlord  desired  the  fittings  to  remain." 

Field  went  away  rather  impressed  by  the  cunningness 
of  the  dodge.  The  whole  thing  was  theatrical  and  a 
little  overdone,  but  it  was  clever,  all  the  same.  A  short 
time  later,  and  Field  was  on  his  way  to  London  with 
Acton  for  his  companion. 

Mr.  Fleming  was  in  the  office  disengaged  and  would 
see  Inspector  Field  at  once.  He  glanced  at  the  latter's 
companion  but  said  nothing. 

"  I  have  been  very  successful,"  Field  said  without 
preamble.  "  I  have  made  some  important  discoveries. 
For  instance,  I  have  found  the  gentleman  who  engrossed 
that  deed.  It  was  engrossed  early  this  morning  at  a 
house  in  Park  Road,  Wandsworth,  by  my  companion. 
If  you  will  show  him  the  deed  he  will  be  able  to  iden- 
tify it  at  once." 

But  Mr.  Fleming  did  not  do  business  in  that  way. 
He  took  two  deeds  and  folded  them  so  that  a  portion  of 
each  could  be  seen.  Then  he  laid  them  both  on  the 
table  and  asked  Acton  to  pick  out  the  one  that  he  had 
done.  All  law  stationers'  writing  is  very  much  alike, 
but  Acton  had  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  picking  out 
his. 

"  That  is  the  one,  sir,"  he  said.  "  That  is  the  one 
that  I  wrote  to-day." 

Fleming  admitted  that  the  choice  was  a  correct  one. 
He  spread  out  the  deed  now  and  proceeded  to  examine 
it  gravely  through  his  glasses.  "  Did  you  put  in  the 
date  ?  "  he  asked. 


262  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  No,  sir,"  Acton  replied.  "  There  was  no  date. 
That  is  a  forgery.  It  is  not  badly  done,  but  you  can 
see  that  it  does  not  quite  tally  with  the  body  of  the  deed. 
Besides,  the  ink  is  slightly  darker.  "  Look  at  that  *  e,' 
too,  in  the  word  '  nine.'  I  never  write  that  kind  of  i  e ' 
—  you  will  not  find  one  like  it  in  the  body  of  the  deed." 

Fleming  was  bound  to  admit  that  such  was  the  case. 
Field  thanked  Acton  for  the  trouble  he  had  taken,  and 
dismissed  him.    Then  he  came  back  to  the  office. 

"  Well,  sir,  are  you  quite  satisfied  now  ?  "  he  asked. 
"  Is  there  any  reasonable  doubt  that " 

"  No  doubt  that  the  deed  purporting  to  have  been 
signed  so  long  ago  was  only  written  to-day.  So  far  as 
that  is  concerned,  you  have  proved  your  case  up  to  the 
hilt,  Field.  Nobody  is  going  to  gain  anything  by  the 
publication  of  that  deed.  But  there  is  one  thing  that 
sticks,  and  I  cannot  get  it  down  at  all  —  the  genuine- 
ness of  that  signature." 

"  It  does  look  like  a  real  signature,"  Field  admitted. 
"  But  you  want  to  suggest  that  Sir  Charles  came  back 
from  the  grave  to-day  to  write  it  ?  I  wonder  if  there  is 
something  new  in  the  way  of  forgery  —  some  means 
whereby  a  genuine  signature  could  be  transformed  from 
one  paper  to  another  without  injuring  the  ink  in  the 
slightest.  They  say  they  can  take  all  the  paint  off  a 
picture  and  place  it  on  a  new  canvas  without  so  much 
as  injuring  a  brush  mark.  That  being  the  case,  why 
couldn't  it  be  done  with  a  man's  signature  ?  " 

Fleming  bit  the  end  of  his  pen  thoughtfully. 

"  It  may  be  possible  that  some  cunning  rascal  has 
invented  an  entirely  new  process,"  he  said.  "  But  any- 
way, I  'm  prepared  to  swear  to  the  genuineness  of  this 
signature.     There  is  only  one  other  way  to  account  for 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  263 

the  whole  business,  and  as  a  sane  man  who  has  long 
come  to  years  of  discretion,  I  am  almost  afraid  to  men- 
tion it  to  a  business  man  like  yourself." 

Eield  looked  up  quickly. 

"  I  have  a  little  hesitation  also,"  he  said,  "  because 
you  may  have  laughed  at  me.  Is  it  possible,  sir,  that 
you  and  I  have  hit  upon  the  same  theory  ?  " 

The  two  men  looked  at  each  other,  and  there  was  a 
long  silence  between  them. 


CHAPTEK  XXXIV 

FIELD  walked  away  thoughtfully  from  the  office  of 
Mr.  Fleming.  He  was  a  little  pleased  to  find 
that  the  lawyer  took  the  same  view  of  the  mystery  as 
himself.  There  was  a  great  deal  to  be  done  yef.  It 
was  getting  very  late  indeed  before  Field  made  his  way 
once  more  in  the  direction  of  Wandsworth.  He  had  an 
important  paper  in  his  pocket,  and  he  had  given  direc- 
tions for  two  of  his  most  trusted  men  to  meet  him  out- 
side No.  100,  Audley  Place,  by  eleven  o'clock. 

But  those  other  men  had  other  tasks  to  perform  first, 
and  they  might  be  some  time  yet.  With  this  knowledge 
in  his  mind,  Field  repaired  to  the  garden  in  front  of 
the  house  and  there  decided  to  wait  for  developments. 
It  was  not  a  cold  night,  the  bushes  in  the  garden  were 
thick,  and  Field  felt  that  he  would  be  just  as  well  there 
as  anywhere  else.  His  patience  was  not  unduly  tried. 
He  chuckled  slightly  to  himself  as  he  saw  Beatrice  ar- 
rive. He  had  a  pretty  shrewd  idea  what  she  was  here 
for. 

"  The  old  fox  is  not  quite  certain  of  his  goal,"  he  told 
himself.  "  He  thinks  he  has  got  everything  in  his  grip 
—  that  the  forged  deed  will  do  the  mischief,  but  per- 
haps there  are  other  papers.  That  is  why  he  has  sent 
for  Mrs.  Bichford.     We  shall  see." 

If  Sartoris  had  known  what  reposed  in  Field's  breast 
pocket  he  would  not  have  been  quite  so  easy  in  his  mind. 
But  he  did  not  know  it,  and  Field  did  not  know  what 

264 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  265 

was  transpiring  inside  the  house.  He  waited  a  little 
longer  till  Mary  Sartoris  came  up.  She  seemed  to  be 
greatly  agitated  about  something;  she  stood  in  the  gar- 
den hesitating.  A  little  later,  and  she  was  joined  by 
Mark  Ventmore.  Eield  was  glad  to  see  so  valuable  an 
ally  here. 

From  his  hiding-place  Field  could  hear  all  that 
passed.  It  was  a  satisfaction  to  be  able  to  gather  up 
such  a  deal  of  information.  Kichford  would  have  to 
come  into  the  net  presently,  and  Richford  was  in  Eng- 
land, which  was  more  than  Field  had  expected.  Of 
course,  with  everybody  else,  he  had  heard  of  the  famous 
diamonds  that  Richford  had  given  to  his  wife,  and  sup- 
posed that  before  now  the  diamonds  had  been  turned 
into  money.  Into  funds,  Richford  would  have  had  a 
good  chance  of  getting  away;  as  it  was,  he  must  still 
be  in  London. 

"  So  that  fellow  is  still  here,"  Field  chuckled.  "  Did 
she  say  Edward  Street?  The  very  house  that  I  have 
my  eye  on.  We  will  bag  all  the  birds.  Hullo,  here 
come  some  more !  " 

Mark  and  Mary  Sartoris  drew  back  as  the  man  and 
woman  respectively  called  Reggie  and  Cora  came  up. 
They  had  their  listeners,  but  they  did  not  know  it. 
Perhaps,  if  they  had,  they  would  not  have  made  their 
plans  quite  so  openly.  As  it  was,  they  had  laid  bare 
the  whole  of  their  new  scheme  to  the  quickest  ears  in 
London.  Field  slipped  from  his  hiding-place  as  Reggie 
and  Cora  closed  the  front  door  behind  them.  Mary 
gave  a  little  scream. 

"  There  is  no  occasion  for  alarm  —  at  least,  as  far 
as  you  are  concerned,  Miss  Sartoris,"  Field  said.  "  I 
have  heard  everything  that  those  people  said." 


266  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  This  is  Inspector  Field  of  Scotland  Yard,"  Mark 
said. 

Mary's  lips  quivered,  but  she  said  nothing.  Her  own 
instincts  told  her  what  Field  was  doing  here.  She  had 
always  felt  that  the  bubble  must  burst  some  day  —  she 
had  always  known  that  her  noble  efforts  were  altogether 
in  vain.  And  yet  she  would  have  gone  on  sacrificing 
herself  to  save  Carl  Sartoris  from  the  fate  that  was  in- 
evitable. 

"  Are  you  down  here  on  any  special  business  8  "  Mark 
asked. 

"  On  business  connected  with  the  disappearance  of 
Sir  Charles  Darryll  and  other  matters,"  Field  said. 
"  The  one  thing  contains  the  other.  But  you  need  not 
have  the  smallest  apprehension  for  the  safety  of  Mrs. 
Richford  and  her  diamonds.  She  is  not  going  to  lose 
them." 

"  How  did  you  know  that  she  had  those  diamonds  in 
her  pocket  ?  "  Mary  asked. 

"  You  forget  that  I  have  been  hiding  here,"  Field 
explained.  "  Like  yourself,  I  heard  every  word  that 
passed  just  now.  Every  moment  I  expect  to  have  two 
of  my  most  trusted  men  here.  Directly  those  two 
emerge  from  the  house  and  get  into  the  road,  they  will 
be  arrested.  In  my  business  I  often  find  that  when 
you  are  looking  for  one  bird  you  frequently  find  an- 
other. Mr.  Reggie  and  Miss  Cora  are  old  friends  of 
mine  and  the  Paris  police.  They  are  very  clever  at 
disguises;  they  work  together,  she  as  a  countess,  and 
he  as  a  general  officer.  Both  of  them  were  on  the  stage 
and  both  would  have  made  very  good  names,  but  the 
honest  role  was  too  dull  for  them.     You  may  rest  as- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  267 

sured  that  those  two  will  be  out  of  the  way  before  day- 
light." 

Mary  listened  with  mixed  feelings.  She  felt  that  in 
a  measure  she  was  mainly  responsible  for  what  was 
going  to  happen.  It  looked  as  though  it  would  be  an 
eventful  evening. 

"  Well,  we  can't  stand  here  all  night,"  Mark  said 
impatiently.  He  was  vaguely  frightened  for  Beatrice, 
in  the  house  with  those  rascals.  "  I  can  help  you.  You 
and  I  together  would  be  a  match  for  the  lot  of  them. 
What  do  you  say  to  try  ?  " 

But  Field  had  no  feeling  that  way  at  all.  The  cool, 
shrewd  officer  did  not  rush  things  in  that  fashion.  He 
had  his  birds  secured  and  he  could  afford  to  wait. 

"  I  cannot  possibly  permit  you  to  interfere  with  my 
plans,  sir,"  he  said  coldly.  "  You  must  recollect  that 
I  am  responsible  to  the  authorities,  and  that  I  have  my 
reputation  to  think  of.  In  my  pocket  I  have  a  warrant 
for  the  arrest  of  certain  people,  and  that  being  the 
case " 

"  For  my  brother !  for  Carl  Sartoris  ?  "  Mary  gasped. 
"  Oh,  is  that  really  so  ?  " 

"  It  would  be  no  kindness  to  conceal  the  fact,"  Field 
said  in  a  gentle  tone.  "  No,  I  cannot  permit  you  to 
enter  the  house.  The  thing  is  absolutely  inevitable,  and 
you  could  not  possibly  prevent  it.  A  cripple  like  your 
brother  could  not  escape  me,  and  any  hasty  action  of* 
yours  might  mean  the  escape  of  the  other  two.  I  am 
exceedingly  sorry,  Miss  Grey." 

Mary  started  as  she  heard  her  own  name  from  the 
lips  of  the  inspector.  The  expression  told  her  that  he 
knew  everything.  The  blow  had  fallen  at  last,  as  Mary 
always  knew  that  it  would  fall,  but  it  was  none  the  less 


268  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

bitter  for  that.  Tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks,  but  she 
said  nothing  further.  Mark  looked  at  her  with  distress 
in  his  eyes ;  he  and  Field  exchanged  glances^ 

"  This  must  be  very  painful  to  you,  miss,"  the  latter 
went  on.  "  By  staying  here  you  can  do  us  no  good  — 
you  are  only  giving  yourself  unnecessary  pain.  Is  there 
any  house  you  can  go  to,  any  place  where  you  can  stay 
for  the  night  ?     A  hotel  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  friends  and  no  money,"  Mary  said 
through  her  tears.  "  Since  coming  to  England  I  have 
given  myself  wholly  to  my  brother.  I  have  done  my 
best  to  make  the  path  smooth  for  him  and  I  have  failed. 
It  was  no  fault  of  mine  that  Sir  Charles " 

"  That  Sir  Charles  was  not  warned,"  Field  said 
hastily.  "  Don't  say  any  more,  please.  Don't  place 
yourself  in  such  a  position  that  I  shall  have  to  call  you 
as  a  witness." 

Mary  swallowed  down  her  choking  sobs.  Two  fig- 
ures stole  across  the  street,  and  Field  gave  a  low  whistle. 
His  two  trusty  subordinates  had  come  at  last.  As  they 
passed  by  the  gate  Field  strode  across  to  them  and  gave 
them  their  instructions.     Mark  turned  to  Mary. 

"  Pray  let  me  be  your  banker,"  he  said.  "  Let  me 
provide  the  money  so  that  you " 

"  But  I  cannot,"  Mary  protested.  "  I  dare  not.  You 
would  never  see  the  money  again,  and  like  all  good  and 
generous  people,  you  are  as  poor  as  I  am  myself." 

"  That  remark  may  have  applied  to  my  affairs  yes- 
terday, but  it  certainly  does  not  to-day,"  Mark  said 
eagerly.  "  I  told  you  that  I  have  been  to  see  my  father 
who  has  been  very  ill  lately.  As  he  lay  in  bed,  with  no 
friends  to  come  and  see  him  —  for  he  has  been  a  hard 
and  selfish  man  —  he  grew  to  see  things  in  a  different 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  269 

light.  He  sent  for  me.  He  was  rather  impressed  by 
the  tale  that  I  had  managed  to  do  without  his  assistance 
and  that  I  was  making  a  name  for  myself.  I  told  him 
everything,  and  we  are  quite  good  friends  again.  He 
insisted  upon  making  me  an  allowance  of  £1,500,  and 
as  the  thought  of  it  did  him  good,  I  did  not  protest. 
After  that,  will  you  let  me  help  you  ?  I  know  how  good 
you  are,  and  how  you  have  suffered." 

"  I  am  more  than  grateful,"  Mary  said  in  a  choked 
voice.  "  It  is  kind  of  you,  but  I  cannot  take  any  ad- 
vantage of  your  offer ;  I  must  stay  till  the  end." 

"  And  go  through  all  the  misery  of  it,"  Mark  pro- 
tested. "  You  know  that  all  those  people  will  sleep  in 
jail  to-night.  Why  should  you  witness  the  arrest  ?  Let 
me  take  you  to  some  quiet  hotel  and  arrange  for  your 
accommodation  there." 

But  Mary  shook  her  head  resolutely.  She  was  not 
going  to  leave  till  she  was  forced  to.  Mark  ceased  his 
pleadings  as  Field  came  back  to  them. 

"  If  you  would  only  let  me  go  into  the  house,"  Mary 
said.  "  I  have  my  own  key,  and  I  shall  not  make  the 
slightest  noise.  They  do  not  require  me!  if  I  put  my 
head  inside  the  study  I  should  at  once  be  ordered  out 
again.    Let  me  go  to  my  own  room." 

Field  hesitated  for  a  moment.  It  was  not  the  first 
time  he  had  met  a  good  woman  whose  life  was  bound 
up  with  that  of  a  criminal,  and  he  had  experience  of 
what  those  women  could  do  in  the  hour  of  peril.  And 
yet  he  hesitated  because  Mary's  prayer  was  passionate 
and  sincere.  But  it  was  only  for  a  moment,  then  he 
became  a  police  officer  again. 

"  I  could  not  allow  it,"  he  said.  "  If  it  came  to  the 
ears  of  my  superiors,  I  should  suffer.     And  I  have  a 


270  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

wife  and  family  to  think  of.  In  minutes  of  temptation 
such  as  you  ask  me  to  put  before  you,  women  are  capa- 
ble of  anything  for  the  sake  of  those  they  love.  Besides, 
you  would  not  have  me  do  a  thing  that  is  wrong  in  the 
eyes  of  my  employers  ?  " 

Mary  was  silent.  Her  own  sense  of  justice  showed 
her  that  Field  was  right.  But  nothing  would  induce 
her  to  go  away,  so  long  as  there  was  anything  like  hope 
remaining.  She  might  get  a  chance  still  to  whisper  one 
word  of  warning.  And  if  it  came  she  would  not  hesi- 
tate.    She  had  not  been  placed  on  her  parole  so  far. 

She  turned  away  to  wipe  her  shining  eyes,  and  as 
she  did  so  the  door  opened  and  Berrington  crept  out. 
His  face  was  full  of  excitement,  his  lips  were  white. 

"  Glad  to  find  you  here,"  he  said.  "  I  was  going  to 
try  and  find  a  messenger.  I  could  not  leave  the  house 
for  very  long,  considering  that " 

He  paused  significantly,  with  his  eyes  on  Mary. 
Evidently  Berrington  had  made  some  great  and  start- 
ling discovery,  or  he  would  not  have  been  so  dreadfully 
agitated.  Even  in  the  moment  of  her  awful  sorrow, 
Mary  could  find  time  to  speak  and  think  of  others. 

"I  am  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for  this,"  she 
said.  "  Philip,  Beatrice  Richford  is  in  the  house ;  she 
has  a  valuable  parcel  of  diamonds  in  her  pocket;  those 
thieves  there  know  it.  Go  to  her  assistance  at  once ; 
see  that  she  is  safe  from  harm.  If  anything  happens 
to  her  I  shall  never  forgive  myself.  Why  don't  you  go 
at  once  ?  " 

"  I  am  sorry,"  Berrington  stammered.  He  seemed 
quite  dazed  and  confused.  "  I  have  no  doubt  that  Mrs. 
Richford  will  be  perfectly  safe,  seeing  that  assistance 
is  at  hand.     Indeed,  I  let  her  know  that  I  was  in  the 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  271 

house  so  that  she  should  not  be  unduly  frightened.  But 
there  are  other  matters  of  far  greater  importance  than 
that.     Sir  Charles  Darryll " 

"  I  thought  we  should  come  to  Sir  Charles  Darryll," 
Field  cut  in  swiftly.  "  But  we  need  not  discuss  that 
matter  here  and  now.    Do  you  want  me  ?  " 

Field  asked  the  question  with  a  strange  ring  in  his 
voice.  Berrington  wondered  — ■  he  was  rapidly  regain- 
ing complete  possession  of  himself.  He  moved  towards 
the  house. 

"  In  a  few  minutes,"  he  said.  "  Wait  till  I  give  you 
the  signal.     Thank  goodness,  you  were  so  close  by." 

Berrington  passed  into  the  house  again  and  closed  the 
door  behind  him. 


CHAPTER  XXXV, 

THERE  was  a  thrill  of  excitement,  an  electric  feel- 
ing in  the  air  that  was  not  lost  to  anyone  of  the 
little  group  standing  there  in  the  darkness.  That  some 
momentous  event  was  going  to  happen  everybody  knew 
without  being  told.  Tacitly,  it  seemed  to  be  understood 
that  everything  was  in  the  hands  of  Inspector  Field. 

Previously,  on  the  arrival  of  his  two  men,  he  had 
sent  one  of  them  off  with  hurried  instructions  of  some 
kind.  The  other  man  stood  by  the  gate  like  a  statue. 
Mark  Ventmore,  growing  restless  at  last,  turned  to 
Field  and  asked  a  question.  The  inspector  was  wiping 
his  damp  hands  upon  his  handkerchief  as  if  he  himself 
was  a  thief  waiting  for  arrest. 

"  We  are  going  to  wait,"  he  said  curtly,  "  and  there 
is  an  end  of  the  matter." 

Mark  felt  that  he  could  not  say  any  more  after  that. 
Mary  was  still  crying  softly  to  herself.  The  misery 
was  with  her  yet,  as  she  felt  that  it  would  be  to  her 
dying  day,  but  the  agony  of  suspense  was  past.  Of 
what  took  place  in  that  house  from  time  to  time  she 
knew  a  great  deal,  but  some  things  had  been  kept  back 
from  her.  It  was  the  vague  feeling  of  what  might  be 
that  frightened  her. 

Half  an  hour  or  more  passed  in  the  same  tense,  rigid 
silence,  and  yet  there  was  no  sign  from  the  house.  A 
figure  crossed  the  road  and  came  up  the  drive,  making 

272 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  273 

no  more  noise  than  a  ghost.  It  was  Field's  man  re- 
turning. 

The  inspector  turned  to  him  with  an  eager  agitation 
that  seemed  strange  to  him. 

"  Well,"  he  asked,  "  have  you  anything  definite  ?  " 

His  voice  sounded  hoarse  and  strange.  The  other 
man  touched  his  cap.  He  seemed  to  hesitate  before  the 
presence  of  so  many  strangers.  Field  urged  him  on  im- 
patiently. 

"  Don't  be  all  night,"  he  said.  "  You  can  speak 
before  the  lady  and  gentleman.  They  don't  know  every- 
thing yet,  but  they  will  in  the  course  of  a  few  minutes. 
Did  you  manage  it  ?  " 

"  Managed  it  all  right,  sir,"  the  misty  figure  in  the 
big  coat  said.  "  I  got  through  on  the  telephone  to  the 
Southwark  police  and  told  them  all  the  particulars. 
They  said  that  they  would  send  round  to  Edward  Street 
without  delay." 

"  Of  course  you  stayed  to  see  that  they  had  done 
so?" 

"  Of  course,  sir.  It  isn't  a  very  far  cry  to  Edward 
Street,  so  I  waited.  I  asked  the  inspector  in  charge  to 
telephone  me  directly  the  raid  had  been  made." 

"  Oh,  get  on,  man,"  Field  cried  impatiently. 
"  You  're  not  in  the  witness  box  now  grinding  it  out 
so  that  the  magistrate's  clerk  can  take  it  all  down  in 
long  hand.  What  I  want  to  know  is  whether  or  not  the 
raid  was  effective." 

"To  a  certain  extent,  sir.  They  took  the  housekeep- 
er, who  doesn't  appear  to  have  had  much  to  do  with  the 
matter,  and  an  old  gentleman  who  looked  like  a  clergy- 
man.   So  far,  there  was  nobody  else  in  the  house." 

Field  gave  vent  to  something  that  sounded  like  a 
18 


274  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

grunt  of  satisfaction.  Mary  said  nothing,  but  she  had 
a  pretty  shrewd  idea  who  the  clergyman  was.  Field 
seemed  to  be  fairly  pleased. 

"  So  far,  so  good,"  he  said.  "  Are  they  going  to 
send  round  the  motor  car  ?  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  see 
our  elderly  clerical  friend  here." 

The  officer  indicated  that  everything  would  be  done 
in  accordance  with  Field's  desire. 

"  There  was  one  other  man  I  wanted,"  he  said. 
"  Not  that  one  ever  gets  everything  in  cases  like  this. 
Unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken,  there  was  another  man 
in  Edward  Street,  a  tall  man " 

"  Called  the  doctor,"  the  officer  said  eagerly.  "  I 
know  all  about  him,  because  they  told  me  over  the  wire 
from  Southwark  exactly  how  the  raid  was  made.  The 
housekeeper  called  to  some  '  doctor,'  but  the  police 
couldn't  find  him.  I  expect  he  found  some  way  of  get- 
ting off." 

"  He  '11  come  here,"  Field  said  emphatically. 
"  He  '11  come  if  only  to  tell  his  pals  exactly  what  has 
happened.  He  '11  come  post  haste  in  a  cab.  If  he  does 
I  shall  bag  the  lot.  This  is  going  to  be  a  fine  evening's 
work." 

Seeing  that  nothing  further  was  expected  of  him,  the 
officer  saluted  and  went  beyond  the  gate.  Still  there 
was  no  sign  from  the  house,  and  the  silence  and  sus- 
pense were  growing  intolerable.  Mark  ventured  to  sug- 
gest that  something  should  be  done. 

Field  turned  upon  him  with  the  fury  of  a  tiger.  By 
his  anger  he  showed  that  he,  too,  was  feeling  the  strain 
of  suspense. 

"  Confound  you,  sir,"  he  said,  "  allow  me  to  know 
my  business  best.     Here  I  am  close  to  the  solution  of 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  275 

one  of  the  strangest  and  most  daring  crimes  of  the  cen- 
tury, and  yet  you  are  asking  me  to  spoil  it  by  the  raw 
haste  of  a  schoolboy." 

"  Perhaps  I  had  better  go,"  Mark  said.  "  Come  with 
me,  Miss  Sartoris.  Let  us  leave  together.  It  will  be 
better  for  you  that  way." 

"  No,"  Mary  said  gently.  "  I  am  greatly  obliged  to 
you,  but  I  shall  stay." 

"  Both  stay,  please,"  Field  said  in  a  gentler  tone. 
"  Mr.  Ventmore,  let  me  make  you  the  most  handsome 
apology  in  my  power.  I  am  afraid  that  this  thing  has 
got  a  little  on  my  nerves.  You  see,  this  is  a  great  case, 
a  far  greater  case  than  anybody  is  aware  of.  I  only 
stumbled  on  the  real  truth  of  it  more  or  less  by  accident 
to-day.  And  if  there  is  anything  like  a  struggle,  your 
help  may  be  of  value." 

Mark  let  the  matter  pass.  He  could  quite  under- 
stand Field's  feeling.  Another  quarter  of  an  hour 
slipped  away ;  the  road  was  now  quite  deserted,  so  that 
the  wheels  of  a  coming  cab  could  be  heard  a  long  way 
off.  There  was  a  little  discussion  between  the  cabman 
and  his  fare,  followed  by  the  banging  of  a  door,  and 
the  heavy  footsteps  came  staggering  up  the  street  and  a 
big  man  passed  before  the  gate  of  No.  100,  Audley 
Place.  With  a  sign,  Field  motioned  his  companion  to 
steal  behind  the  bushes. 

"  One  of  our  birds,  unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken," 
he  said.     "  Yes,  he  is  coming  this  way." 

Mary  held  her  breath  now,  for  she  did  not  fail  to 
recognise  the  newcomer.  She  could  see  from  a  casual 
glance  that  it  was  Bentwood. 

He  came  with  a  lurch  and  a  stagger  which  proved 
his  condition.     He  seemed  a  little  suspicious  at  first, 


276  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

but  the  silence  of  the  house,  the  steady  gleam  of  the 
light  over  the  fanlight,  seemed  to  dispel  any  suspicions. 
Then  he  advanced  more  boldly  to  the  door.  As  he  stood 
on  the  bottom  step,  Field  emerged  from  his  hiding- 
place. 

"  Doctor  Bentwood,"  he  said,  "  I  fancy  I  am  not 
mistaken.  You  will  oblige  me  by  taking  your  hand  off 
the  bell.     Nobody  will  answer  your  ring." 

Taken  aback  for  a  moment,  Bentwood  stepped  off  the 
path.     He  bent  and  gripped  Field  by  the  throat. 

"  You  little  beast !  "  he  hissed.  "  I  '11  kill  you.  If 
you  only  knew  who  you  are  talking  to !  " 

But  Field  was  made  of  whipcord  and  steel.  He 
slipped  away  from  the  other's  grip  and  planted  two  or 
three  body  blows  that  caused  Bentwood  to  groan  aloud. 
Mark  stepped  out  at  once,  but  there  was  no  need  of  his 
services.  Field  was  all  over  his  man  by  this  time.  As 
he  clenched  and  drove  his  left  home,  Bentwood  came 
heavily  to  the  ground.  Before  he  could  stagger  to  his 
feet  again,  Field  had  the  handcuffs  on  him. 

"It's  an  outrage,"  Bentwood  blustered,  though  his 
face  was  white  now  and  his  big  red  cheeks  shook  like  a 
jelly.     "  What  does  it  all  mean  ?  " 

"  Case  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll,"  Field  panted.  "  We 
know  all  about  that.  We  shall  have  your  friend  Sar- 
toris,  in  a  minute,  to  say  nothing  of  Reggie  and  Cora. 
If  you  tell  us  everything  and  make  a  clean  breast  of 
your  part  of  it " 

"  Shan't,"  Bentwood  said  sullenly.  "  You  can  find 
out  that  for  yourself." 

Field  pursed  his  lips  in  a  soft  whistle.  The  two 
shadows  by  the  gate  came  up. 

"  Keep  him   close  by,"   Field   said.     "  He  is   just 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  277 

valiantly  drunk  now,  but  unless  I  greatly  mistake  my 
man,  lie  will  listen  to  reason  shortly.  Don't  take  him 
far  away,  as  I  may  want  to  make  use  of  him  presently. 
I  am  glad  that  he  arrived  on  the  scene  before  the  mo- 
tor came  up." 

Again  the  tense  silence  fell  on  the  group;  once  more 
they  had  to  possess  their  souls  in  patience.  Field  ap- 
peared more  cheerful  and  philosophical;  the  arrest  of 
Bentwood  seemed  to  have  taken  a  heavy  weight  from 
his  mind.  He  took  out  a  cigarette  and  lighted  it. 
Mark  turned  to  Mary. 

"  You  are  sure  that  you  will  not  reconsider  your  de- 
cision ? "  he  said.  ■"•  I  wish  that  I  could  persuade  you 
not  to  remain  here.  It  has  been  quite  painful  enough 
for  you  already,  and  you  can  do  no  good.  Why  should 
you  witness  the  final  humiliation  of  it  ?  " 

Mary  looked  at  the  speaker;  a  grateful  sigh  came 
from  her  lips. 

"  You  are  more  than  kind  to  me,"  she  said.  "  But  I 
have  drunk  so  deeply  of  the  cup  of  humiliation  that  a 
draught  more  or  less  makes  no  difference.  Heaven 
knows  how  I  have  tried  to  avert  this  thing,  to  ward  off 
the  danger  that  I  could  not  see.  And  yet  all  this  time 
I  knew  that  sooner  or  later  the  blow  would  fall.  Mr. 
Ventmore,  how  old  do  you  take  me  to  be  ? " 

Mark  could  not  say.  It  was  rather  an  awkward  ques- 
tion. 

"  I  see  by  your  silence  that  you  would  rather  not 
reply,"  Mary  said.  "  It  means  that  you  would  have  a 
delicacy  in  calling  me  an  old  woman.  And  yet  I  am 
barely  thirty.  When  I  think  what  I  was  three  years 
ago,  it  seems  to  me  as  if  ages  had  passed.  Of  course, 
this  is  all  silly  talk,  but  I  must  talk  or  go  mad." 


278  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  There  is  a  happier  time  coming  for  you,"  Mark 
said. 

"  I  know  that.  Once  that  blow  has  fallen,  I  shall 
regard  myself  as  free  of  my  cares.  And  now,  with  that 
prospect  before  me,  I  would  avert  the  calamity  if  I 
could.  And  yet  I  have  done  my  best  and  nobody  could 
do  more." 

Silence  fell  again,  for  Mark  could  not  think  of  any- 
thing else  to  say.  The  silence  was  broken  presently  by 
the  clang  and  snarl  of  a  distant  motor  car,  and  Field 
pitched  his  cigarette  away.  He  seemed  to  have  become 
good-humoured  all  at  once. 

"  That  is  good,"  he  exclaimed.  "  Our  patience  has 
been  rewarded  at  last.  Another  few  minutes  and  we 
will  go  and  see  what  the  house  has  in  store  for  us. 
There  's  the  other  man." 

The  motor  pulled  up  opposite  No.  100,  and  two  men 
got  out  —  followed  by  a  third  in  clerical  costume.  The 
latter  seemed  to  be  protesting  about  something.  As  he 
came  up  the  drive  Field  stepped  out,  and  the  two  men 
who  had  engineered  the  motor  car  saluted. 

"  You  have  done  exceedingly  well,"  Field  said  in  a 
pleased  voice.  "  You  will  just  stay  where  you  are, 
because  you  may  be  wanted.  So  you  have  brought  the 
gentleman  from  Edward  Street?  I  telephoned  your 
chief  to  make  a  raid  on  the  place  just  now." 

"  But  this  is  an  outrage,"  the  clerical  figure  said  in  a 
shaky  voice.  "  To  take  a  gentleman  from  his  lodgings 
in  that  way  is  something  that  even  the  police " 

"  The  police  are  prepared  to  accept  all  responsibil- 
ity," Field  said  drily.  "  There  is  one  little  matter  that 
I  have  to  clear  up,  and  that  is  your  identity.     As  it  is 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  279 

not  a  cold  night  you  are  not  likely  to  suffer  for  the  want 
of  your  wig." 

Dexterously  Field  snatched  away  wig  and  hat  and 
glasses,  and  Richford  stood  exposed.  He  was  about  to 
say  something  when  all  attention  was  arrested  by  a 
sound  from  the  house.  It  was  a  clear,  crisp  sound,  the 
ring  of  a  revolver  shot. 

"  Look  to  your  prisoners !  "  said  Field  crisply.  "  I 
am  going  into  the  house." 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

MEANWHILE  Berrington  had  stepped  aside  after 
having  arranged  W  give  Field  the  signal.  And 
Berrington  had  made  a  discovery,  the  importance  of 
which  it  was  impossible  to  overestimate.  For  the  mo- 
ment it  had  almost  deprived  him  of  the  power  of  think- 
ing about  anything  else,  but  now  it  came  to  him  that 
Beatrice  might  be  in  some  little  danger. 

In  the  first  place,  the  girl  was  in  possession  of  a  par- 
cel of  valuable  diamonds,  the  possession  of  which  the 
others  knew  of  and  coveted.  The  rascals  were  in  a 
tight  place  now,  and  they  would  not  stick  at  much  to 
make  their  escape.  If  they  were  short  of  funds  the 
diamonds  in  Beatrice's  pocket  would  come  in  useful. 
But  Berrington,  like  the  cool  soldier  that  he  was,  had 
decided  not  to  spoil  the  thing  by  an  eager  haste.  There 
was  plenty  of  assistance  outside,  and  besides,  he  had  a 
trusty  revolver  in  his  pocket.  He  stood  now  in  the 
hall  where  he  was  in  a  position  to  hear  all  that  was 
going  on. 

Beatrice  had  rushed  to  the  door  and  beat  her  hands 
upon  it.  She  was  pulled  away  more  or  less  roughly 
by  the  man  called  Reggie,  but  she  did  not  seem  to  no- 
tice it. 

"  Am  I  mad  or  dreaming  ? "  she  said  as  she  pressed 
her  hands  to  her  forehead.  "  I  could  have  sworn  that 
I  heard  a  voice  calling  me,  a  voice " 

"  All  nonsense,"  said  Sartoris  hoarsely.  "  You  are 
280 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  281 

overstrung,  and  your  imagination  is  too  real  for  you. 
Did  any  of  the  rest  of  you  hear  a  voice  ?  " 

The  other  two  denied  that  they  had  heard  anything. 
Beatrice  broke  out  scornfully 

"  It  is  a  lie,"  she  said.  "  You  all  heard  it.  Every- 
body heard  it.  If  not,  why  are  you  all  so  white,  and 
why  do  you  all  look  so  curiously  at  one  another  ? " 

It  was  quite  true,  and  Sartoris  had  no  reply  for  the 
moment.  He  seemed  to  be  struggling  to  regain  his  lost 
self-possession.  Then  he  glanced  at  the  man  called 
Reggie,  who  shrugged  his  shoulders.  Sartoris  was  him- 
self again  by  this  time. 

"  It  was  certainly  an  effect  of  the  imagination,"  he 
cried.  "  Let  us  talk  of  other  things.  My  dear  young 
lady,  my  friends  here  have  been  good  enough  to  betray 
the  fact  that  you  have  a  lot  of  valuable  diamonds  in 
your  pocket.     Is  that  a  fact  ?  " 

Beatrice  scorned  to  lie,  and  now  in  any  case  it  would 
have  been  useless.  She  looked  from  one  to  the  other 
and  wondered  what  had  become  of  Berrington.  Ber- 
rington  was  listening  outside  the  door  and  feeling  that 
the  time  for  him  to  interfere  was  close  at  hand. 

"  It  is  exactly  as  these  people  say,"  Beatrice  ad- 
mitted. 

"  It  is  very  good  of  them  to  take  all  this  trouble," 
Sartoris  said  in  a  sulky  voice.  "  Because  of  those  stones 
in  your  pocket  they  are  here  to-night.  They  followed 
you  here,  because  they  are  both  lovers  of  that  kind  of 
thing.  Out  of  purely  disinterested  motives,  they  had 
made  up  their  minds  not  to  tell  me,  but  a  little  indiscre- 
tion on  the  part  of  my  fair  lady  prevented  that  silent 
policy  from  becoming  a  success." 

"  What 's  all  this  about  ?  "  Cora  asked  uneasily. 


282  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Why  ask  ?  "  Sartoris  said  with  contempt.  "  So  that 
was  your  game,  eh?  Fill  your  own  pockets  and  leave 
the  rest  of  us  to  look  after  ourselves.  Go  off  together 
and  try  the  air  of  South  America  once  more,  you  rep- 
tiles !  " 

The  other  two  said  nothing.  They  had  a  proper  re- 
spect for  the  keen  intelligence  of  Carl  Sartoris,  and 
they  knew  that  he  had  found  them  out.  There  was  a 
queer  gleam  in  his  eyes. 

"  We  will  have  a  friendly  discussion  on  the  ethics  of 
the  case  some  other  time,"  he  said  with  an  ominous 
frown.  "  Meanwhile  I  think  you  can  leave  the  matter 
to  me.  My  dear  young  lady,  I  should  very  much  like 
to  see  those  diamonds." 

"  I  regret  that  I  cannot  accommodate  you,"  Beatrice 
said.     "  In  the  first  place  they  are  not  mine." 

"  No,  but  they  belong  to  Stephen  Eichford,  which 
is  much  the  same  thing." 

"  Again  I  am  sorry  to  have  to  disagree  with  you," 
Beatrice  went  on  quietly.  "  The  man  who  calls  him- 
self my  husband  has  ended  his  career  disgracefully. 
He  has  been  guilty  of  fraudulent  conduct,  and  even 
at  the  present  moment  he  may  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
police." 

Beatrice  spoke  more  truly  than  she  had  imagined. 
She  was  not  in  the  least  frightened,  and  yet  she  knew 
perfectly  well  that  these  people  would  not  stick  at  tri- 
fles. 

"  My  husband  came  to  me  to-night,"  she  said.  "  He 
came  and  asked  me  for  these  gems.  He  wanted  to  turn 
them  into  money  to  fly  with ;  he  desired  to  have  a  luxu- 
rious retreat.  I  might  have  parted  with  them  but  for 
one  thing  —  he  seemed  to  have  no  sorrow  for  those 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  283 

that  he  had  robbed.  So  I  declined  to  part  with  the 
diamonds.  I  am  going  to  keep  them  and  hand  them 
over  to  my  husband's  creditors.  I  took  them  from  the 
safe  in  my  hotel,  fearing  that  there  would  be  complica- 
tions, but  I  was  wrong,  and  I  am  sorry  that  I  did  so." 

"  And  why  are  you  sorry  ?  "  Sartoris  asked. 

"  Because  the  stones  were  far  safer  there  than  they 
are  here,"  Beatrice  said. 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  girl's  insinuation;  even 
Sartoris  reddened. 

"  So  you  mean  to  say  that  you  suspect  me  ? "  he 
asked. 

"  Most  certainly  I  do,"  Beatrice  said  boldly.  "  I 
have  only  to  look  into  your  face  to  see  that.  You  are 
all  three  together;  there  is  no  honesty  between  you. 
You  are  not  even  loyal  to  each  other.  And  I  know  who 
you  are  and  what  part  you  all  played  in  the  removal  of 
my  father's  body  from  the  hotel.  You  who  call  your- 
self Sartoris,  are  the  little  cripple  of  the  black  hansom 
cab,  you  others  are  the  rogues  who  posed  as  Countess 
de  la  Moray  and  General  Gastang.  And  if  those  dia- 
monds are  to  become  your  property,  you  must  take  them 
by  force." 

"  Le  brave  chien,"  the  woman  sneered.  "  Well,  I 
suppose  what  must  be,  must.     Who  will  do  it  ?  " 

"  Who  better  than  yourself  ?  "  Sartoris  asked.  "  I 
had  rather  not  lay  hands  on  a  woman,  but :" 

"  There  is  no  necessity.  The  painful  thing  is  not 
going  to  be  done  at  all.  It  is  well  that  I  am  here  to 
shield  your  consciences  from  such  an  outrage." 

The  door  had  opened  so  suddenly  that  the  man  Reg- 
gie was  almost  carried  off  his  feet,  and  Berrington 
stood  in  the  room.     Beatrice  gave  a  sudden  sob  of  re- 


284;  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

lief,  for  she  had  forgotten  Berrington  altogether  in  the 
tension  of  the  moment.  He  stood  there  erect  and  up- 
right, his  face  pale  with  anger  and  his  eyes  blazing 
like  stars. 

Sartoris  burst  out  furiously  and  impatiently 

"  Damnation !  "  he  screamed.  "  I  had  clean  forgot- 
ten all  about  this  fellow.  His  very  existence  had  passed 
altogether  out  of  my  mind." 

"  Then  your  memory  is  very  short  and  very  con- 
venient," Berrington  said.  "  It  is  not  so  very  long  ago 
that  my  presence  in  the  house  was  exceedingly  con- 
venient to  you." 

"  You  saved  my  life  for  what  it  is  worth,"  Sartoris 
growled  sullenly. 

"  Well,  it  may  be  worth  a  great  deal  to  the  police," 
Berrington  retorted.  "  I  saved  your  life,  which  was 
perhaps  a  foolish  thing  to  do,  especially  as  you  had 
made  preparations  to  sacrifice  mine  for  so  doing. 
Whilst  your  hands  have  been  so  full,  I  have  been  mak- 
ing investigations  in  the  house.  Really,  I  have  been 
very  well  repaid  for  my  trouble." 

Sartoris  started  and  looked  up  uneasily.  Eor  once 
his  ready  tongue  failed  him. 

"  Perhaps  you  had  better  be  a  little  more  explicit," 
he  said. 

"  Time  enough  for  that,  presently.  My  first  discov- 
ery was  in  connection  with  the  dining-room  fireplace. 
I  fancy  you  know  what  I  mean.  The  next  item  was 
connected  with  the  stairs.  You  murderous  dog,  so  that 
was  the  trap  you  laid  for  me.  I  was  not  to  go  until 
you  had  seen  me  again.  I  was  to  stay  for  the  sake  of 
your  sister.     Well,  I  am  glad  that  I  obeyed  now.     But 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  285 

my  little  discoveries  did  not  end  here.  Mrs.  Kichford, 
what  is  this  ?  " 

Berrington  held  oat  a  strip  of  soiled  linen  and 
Beatrice  took  it  in  her  hand. 

"  It  looks  like  a  collar,"  she  said.  "  It  is  a  collar. 
If  you  have  made  a  discovery,  Colonel  Berrington,  I 
have  made  another.  This  collar  belongs  to  my  father ; 
I  marked  it  for  him  in  some  new  ink  that  does  not 
want  heating.  Melanyl,  I  think  they  call  it.  It  was 
one  of  a  set  of  a  dozen  collars  and  I  marked  them  all, 
the  day  of  that  fatal  dinner  party.  You  see  that,  as 
my  father  had  had  no  valet  of  late " 

"  You  acted  in  his  stead,"  Berrington  said  eagerly ; 
"  when  did  you  mark  this  ?  " 

"  About  half -past  four  on  the  day  of  the  dinner 
party." 

"  Not  long  before  your  father  went  up  to  dress  for 
dinner,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  would  be  about  that  time.  After  marking 
the  collars  that  had  just  come  from  the  makers,  I  placed 
them  in  father's  wardrobe  in  his  bedroom." 

"  Then  this  is  the  very  collar  that  he  wore  for  the 
dinner  party,"  Berrington  cried ;  "  the  very  collar  that 
he  was  wearing  at  the  time  he  disappeared.  And  the 
same  collar  I  found  not  an  hour  ago  in  Mr.  Sartoris's 
dining-room.  Not  in  the  dining-room  proper,  but  in  a 
kind  of  vault  under  the  floor.  What  is  the  explanation 
of  this,  I  wonder  ?  " 

"  If  you  are  so  cursedly  clever,"  Sartoris  sneered, 
"  you  had  better  find  out  for  yourself.  Get  him  out  of 
the  way,  get  both  of  them  out  of  the  way,  get  the  dia- 
monds, and  let  us  disappear.  The  game  is  up  so  far  as 
England  is  concerned.     Get  him  out  of  the  way." 


286  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Sartoris's  voice  had  risen  to  a  wild  scream.  He  sent 
his  chair  rapidly  across  the  room  in  the  direction  of  the 
door.    Berrington  pulled  him  up  sharp. 

"  No  tricks,"  he  said  sternly.  "  Now  none  of  those 
electrical  contrivances  of  yours.  If  you  move  so  much 
as  an  inch  further  I  '11  shoot  you  like  a  dog." 

Sartoris  pulled  up  suddenly.  He  did  not  need  to 
look  at  Berrington's  face  to  feel  sure  that  he  was  in 
deadly  earnest.  At  the  same  time  the  man  called  Reg- 
gie leaped  at  Berrington's  throat  and  bore  him  back- 
wards. The  assault  was  so  sudden  that  Berrington 
dropped  the  revolver  that  he  had  drawn,  at  the  feet  of 
Beatrice. 

"  Never  mind  about  me,"  he  called  out.  "  Point  the 
weapon  upwards  and  pull  the  trigger." 

In  a  mechanical  kind  of  way  Beatrice  did  as  she  was 
told.  As  the  weapon  swayed,  the  trigger  clicked,  and 
the  bullet,  deflected  on  the  table,  snapped  the  back  leg 
of  Sartoris's  chair  clean  off,  so  that  he  came  a  huddled 
mass  of  bones  to  the  floor.  A  report  followed,  and 
before  the  smoke  had  fully  cleared  away  from  Beatrice's 
eyes  it  seemed  to  her  that  the  room  was  full  of  people. 
There  were  three  or  four  policemen  in  uniform,  Field 
cool  and  collected,  Richford  white  and  sullen,  with 
the  twitching  face  of  Bentwood  in  the  background. 

As  the  man  Reggie  rose  to  his  feet,  the  handcuffs 
were  slipped  over  his  wrists,  and  the  woman  was  treated 
in  a  similar  fashion.  Only  Sartoris,  being  absolutely 
helpless,  was  spared  the  like  indignity.  Field  looked 
quite  satisfied. 

"  Bagged  the  whole  covey,"  he  said.  "  Go  and  stand 
at  the  front  door,  one  of  you,  and  see  that  nobody  goes 
out.     There  may  be  others  present,  of  whom  we  know 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  287 

nothing  as  yet.  Now,  Mr.  Sartoris,  I  should  like  to 
have  a  few  words  with  you  touching  the  disappearance 
of  Sir  Charles  Darryll." 

"  You  think  that  I  murdered  him  ?  "  Sartoris  sneered. 

"  Certainly  not,"  Field  replied.  "  You  can't  have 
murder  without  a  corpse,  and  in  this  case  we  do  not 
even  pretend  to  look  for  the  corpse." 

"  Or  a  hody  perhaps,"  Sartoris  went  on.  He  was 
quite  the  coolest  person  in  the  room.  "  Well,  what  do 
you  want  me  to  say  or  do?  If  you  produce  the 
corpse " 

"  As  I  said  before,  there  is  no  corpse,"  Field  said. 
"  Colonel  Berrington  seems  to  have  discovered  some- 
thing.   He  may  be  able  to  help  us  if  you  won't." 

"  I  can  help  you,"  Berrington  said  in  a  thrilling 
voice,  "  beyond  your  most  sanguine  hopes." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

SARTORIS  sat  a  huddled  heap  on  the  floor,  with  his 
white  snarling  face,  looking  out  like  the  head  of 
an  angry  snake.  He  was  not  in  the  least  afraid,  and 
yet  the  expression  of  his  eyes  told  that  he  knew  every- 
thing was  over.  As  he  struggled  painfully  to  his  feet, 
Mary  ran  forward  and  guided  him  to  a  chair.  He  did 
not  thank  her  by  so  much  as  a  gesture.  All  the  care 
and  tenderness  was  wasted  upon  that  warped  nature. 

"  If  I  were  not  a  cripple,"  he  snarled,  "  this  would 
never  have  happened.  And  yet  a  cursed  bag  of  aching 
bones  has  got  the  better  of  you  all,  ay,  and  would  have 
kept  the  better,  too,  if  I  could  only  have  moved  about 
like  the  rest.  But  you  are  not  going  to  get  me  to  say 
anything  if  I  sit  here  all  night." 

It  was  a  strange  scene,  altogether, — .Sartoris  a  Hud- 
dled heap,  cursing  and  snarling  in  his  chair,  the  man 
Reggie  and  the  woman  Cora  standing  by,  with  uneasy 
grins  on  their  faces,  trying  to  carry  it  off  in  a  spirit 
of  false  bravado.  To  the  right  of  them  stood  Bent- 
wood,  now  quite  sober  and  shaking,  and  Richford  sullen 
and  despairing.  Beatrice  was  in  the  shadow  behind 
Mark  Ventmore.  Mary  moved  forward,  followed  by 
Berrington. 

"  What  is  the  charge  ? "  the  man  Reggie  asked. 
"  What  have  we  done  ?  " 

Field  shrugged  his  shoulders.  Really  the  question 
288 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  289 

did  not  deserve  a  reply.  Sartoris  took  up  the  same  line 
in  his  snarling  voice. 

"  That 's  what  we  want  to  know,"  he  said.  "  What 
is  the  charge?  If  you  have  a  warrant,  read  it  aloud. 
We  have  every  right  to  know." 

"  I  have  a  warrant  so  far  as  you  are  concerned," 
Field  replied.  "  For  the  present,  you  are  charged  with 
forgery  and  uttering  a  certain  document,  purporting  to 
be  an  assignment  of  mining  interests  in  Burmah  from 
Sir  Charles  Darryll  to  yourself.  The  document  is  in 
my  pocket,  and  I  can  produce  it  for  your  inspection,  if 
you  like.  I  need  not  tell  you  that  there  will  be  other 
charges  later  on,  but  these  will  suffice  for  the  present." 

"  That  does  not  touch  us,  at  all,"  the  woman  Cora 
said. 

"  I  am  arresting  you  on  my  own  responsibility," 
Field  said  curtly.  "  If  I  have  made  any  mistake,  then 
you  can  bring  an  action  for  illegal  detention  later  on. 
Colonel  Berrington,  we  are  wasting  time  here.  Had  we 
not  better  get  on  with  our  search  ?  " 

Berrington  nodded  approval.  There  was  an  exulting 
gleam  in  his  eyes  that  betokened  the  discovery  of  some- 
thing out  of  the  common.  Mary  crossed  the  room  rap- 
idly and  threw  herself  in  an  utter  abandonment  of  grief 
at  her  brother's  feet. 

"  Oh,   why  don't  you  tell   them  everything  ? "   she 

cried.     "  Why  don't  you  tell  the  whole  truth  and  save 

yourself?     I  have  friends  here,  more  than  one,  who 

care  for  me,  and  who  for  my  sake  would  do  much  to 

save  you  from  the  shame  and  humiliation  that  lie  before 

you.     I  know  much,  but  I  do  not  know  all.     For  the 

sake  of  the  old  name  — — " 

"  Burn  the  old  name,"  Sartoris  said.     "  What  has  it 
19 


290  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

done  for  me  ?  You  nave  been  a  good  sister  to  me,  but 
your  attentions  have  been  a  little  embarrassing  some- 
times. And  if  you  had  hoped  to  change  me,  you  had 
your  trouble  for  your  pains.  You  may  put  me  on  the 
rack  and  torture  me,  but  "not  one  word  do  I  say." 

"  It  seems  so  hard,  so  very  hard,"  Mary  moaned. 
"  And  when  I  look  back  to  the  time  — — " 

"  Oh,  never  mind  looking  back  to  any  time,"  Sartoris 
muttered.  "  The  game  's  up,  I  tell  you.  I  have  been 
beaten,  and  there  's  an  end  of  it.  I  should  play  the 
same  hand  again  if  I  had  the  chance,  so  make  no  mis- 
take about  that.     Wheel  me  as  far  as  the  dining-room." 

"  It  will  not  be  of  the  slightest  use,"  Berrington  said 
in  a  cold,  clear  voice.  "  I  know  that  you  would  blow 
the  whole  lot  of  us  to  Eternity  if  you  got  the  chance,  as 
a  kind  of  revenge  for  our  victory,  but  I  have  put  an 
end  to  that.  You  will  find  all  the  wires  disconnected 
from  your  battery.  After  that  you  are  quite  free  to 
go  into  the  dining-room." 

Sartoris  grinned  and  displayed  his  teeth  in  an  evil 
smile.  Heaven  only  knows  what  new  form  of  villainy 
he  was  plotting.  And  he  would  cheerfully  have  blown 
up  the  house  and  destroyed  everybody  there,  including 
himself,  if  he  had  had  the  opportunity  to  complete  his 
revenge. 

"  We  are  wasting  time,"  Field  said.  "  Take  all  the 
prisoners  away,  except  Dr.  Bentwood.  I  have  very 
good  reasons  for  asking  him  to  remain." 

Bentwood  smiled  in  a  mean  and  sinister  way.  He 
had  tried  to  hide  himself  in  a  corner  of  the  room. 
There  was  something  so  cringing  and  fawning  about  the 
fellow  that  Berrington  longed  to  kick  him.  Sartoris 
spoke  in  a  waspish  whisper: 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  291 

"  So  the  land  lies  in  that  quarter,"  he  said.  "  We 
have  an  informer  amongst  us.  If  I  had  known  that 
before,  my  good  Bentwood, —  if  I  had  known  that  be- 
fore !  " 

Big  as  he  was,  Bentwood  looked  small  and  mean  at 
that  moment. 

"  You  are  quite  mistaken,"  he  cried.  "  You  are 
altogether  wrong,  my  dear  Carl.  I  am  as  much  of  a 
prisoner  as  any  of  you.  I  was  taken  in  fair  fight  out- 
side after  a  desperate  struggle.  What  have  I  to  gain 
by  an  attitude  of  unreasonable  obstinacy  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing,"  Sartoris  replied.  "  But  you  can 
make  things  easy  for  yourself  by  affording  the  police 
information.  You  will  probably  get  off  with  ten  years. 
I  would  fight  the  thing  out  to  the  bitter  end  and  chance 
it.    But  you  and  I  are  made  of  different  stuff." 

Mark  Ventmore,  watching  the  two  men,  thought  so 
too,  but  he  said  nothing.  One  was  a  mere  bag  of  bones, 
the  other  a  fine  figure  of  a  man,  but  Mark  would  have 
preferred  the  cripple,  who  made  no  sign  and  showed 
no  feeling  as  he  tottered  to  the  door,  between  the  police- 
men. Mary  would  have  said  something  to  him,  but  he 
waved  her  back. 

"  Now  don't  you  trouble  about  me  any  more,"  he 
said.  "  I  shall  be  safe  for  some  years  to  come,  the  law 
will  see  to  that.  We  shall  never  meet  again,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  a  physique  like  mine  will  not  stand 
the  prison  treatment.    I  shall  die  there.     Good  bye." 

Mary  kept  back  her  tears.  She  would  have  felt  bet- 
ter if  she  could  have  seen  even  the  slightest  trace  of 
remorse  in  her  brother. 

"  Marry  Berrington,"  he  said.  "  He  has  been  pretty 
faithful  to  you  and  you  will  be  alone  in  the  world  now. 


292  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

You  should  think  yourself  lucky  with  a  man  like  that 
to  fall  back  upon.  I  have  to  say  adieu  to  the  lot  of 
you." 

Sartoris  was  gone  at  last.  In  fact  the  whole  lot  were 
packed  on  the  motor  car  which  the  police  had  sent  down 
at  Field's  instigation.  Being  a  cripple,  Sartoris  had 
been  accommodated  in  the  seat  by  the  driver.  With 
her  eyes  heavy  with  tears,  Mary  watched  them  depart. 
Sartoris  was  fatally  correct  in  his  prophecy ;  it  was  the 
last  time  that  Mary  was  destined  to  see  him.  He  had 
always  recognised  the  fact  that  jail  would  be  the  death 
of  him.  He  had  the  germs  of  a  disease  in  his  breast 
that  he  had  only  kept  at  bay  by  constant  occupation 
and  mental  activity.  Mary  never  looked  upon  the  face 
of  her  brother  in  the  flesh  again. 

Field  turned  to  Berrington  and  drew  a  long  breath. 

"  The  atmosphere  smells  all  the  sweeter  for  the  loss 
of  that  lot,"  he  said.  "  My  word,  this  has  been  an 
anxious  night  for  me.  I  don't  know  when  I  have  felt 
so  nervous.  But  I  see  that  you  have  made  a  discovery, 
Colonel  Berrington.    What  is  it  ?  " 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  I  have  made  more  than  one," 
Berrington  said.  "  In  the  first  place  my  suspicion  that 
the  body  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll  was  brought  here  has 
been  confirmed.  To  begin  with,  I  have  got  to  the  bot- 
tom of  that  mysterious  dining-room  business.  Come 
this  way  and  I  will  show  you.  Bentwood  and  that  offi- 
cer of  yours  had  better  stay  here  for  the  moment." 

"  Anything  that  I  can  do  for  you,  gentlemen,"  Bent- 
wood  said  meekly.  "  Any  information  that  lies  in  my 
power.  You  have  only  to  command  me,  and  I  will 
respond." 

"  Presently,"  Field  said  contemptuously.     "  We  will 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  293 

question  you  later  on.  Then  you  shall  tell  me  all  about 
that  secret  Eastern  drug  that  you  understand  so  well, 
and  what  effect  it  is  likely  to  have  on  a  sleeping  man." 

Bentwood  gave  a  gasp,  and  his  face  grew  livid.  It 
was  evident  that  Field  had  struck  and  tapped  a  mine 
that  the  doctor  had  considered  to  be  hidden  from  every- 
body. Then  Bentwood  sat  down  moodily  and  looked 
into  the  fire. 

Berrington  led  the  way  into  the  dining-room,  where 
he  proceeded  to  explain  everything  in  relation  to  the 
room  under  the  floor  and  the  vault  in  connection  there- 
with. Field  was  particularly  interested.  All  this 
worked  out  beautifully  with  his  theory. 

"  I  expect  the  body  was  concealed  here,"  he  said. 
"  The  thing  has  been  well  worked  out.  But  do  you 
suppose  that  Sartoris  went  to  all  this  trouble  and  ex- 
pense for  the  simple  reason " 

"  He  didn't,"  Berrington  explained.  "  Miss  Sartoris, 
or  Miss  Grey  as  I  prefer  to  call  her,  told  me  all  about 
that.  The  house  was  taken  four  years  ago  and  occupied 
by  an  American  electrical  engineer  whom  Sartoris  knew 
quite  well.  It  was  he  who  put  in  all  these  dodges. 
When  he  died,  Sartoris  took  the  place,  doubtless  feeling 
that  he  might  be  able  to  use  the  mysteries  here  to  good 
effect.  I  don't  suppose  at  that  time  that  he  knew  any- 
thing about  the  full  value  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll's  con- 
cessions. But  once  he  had  to  take  action,  then  this  room 
came  in  very  usefully." 

"  Do  you  know  why  they  brought  the  body  Here  ?  " 
Field  asked. 

"  Yes,  I  have  a  pretty  good  idea  on  that  score.  Sir 
Charles  had  certain  papers  in  his  room  in  the  Royal 
Palace  Hotel,  and  these  people  wanted  to  gain  posses- 


294  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

sion  of  them.  The  robbery  was  fixed  to  take  place  on 
the  night  of  that  dinner  party.  Mind  you,  Richford 
did  not  know  anything  about  that,  because  Sartoris  had 
kept  him  in  the  dark.  Bentwood  was  to  work  it.  Bent- 
wood  was  to  administer  the  drug,  but  he  gave  too  much. 
The  consequence  was  an  overdose,  as  you  may  gather." 

Field  smiled  peculiarly,  but  he  gave  no  hint  as  to 
the  extent  of  his  own  discovery. 

"  These  people  did  not  want  a  post  mortem,"  Ber- 
rington  said.  "  They  did  not  desire  that  any  traces  of 
that  practically  unknown  drug  should  be  discovered." 

"  And  you  think  that  they  all  ran  that  risk  to  guard 
their  secret  ?  "  asked  Field.  "  Well,  you  have  provided 
me  with  one  or  two  surprises,  but  I  am  going  to  pro- 
vide you  with  as  many  before  we  go  to  bed.  Have  you 
discovered  anything  further  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Berrington,  "  this  collar,  for  in- 
stance. I  am  in  a  position  to  prove  beyond  the  shadow 
of  a  doubt  that  Sir  Charles  wore  it  on  the  night  of  the 
dinner  party.  I  found  that  down  here  in  this  very 
vault.  JN~o  further  proof  is  wanted  that  the  body  was 
here.  But  what  puzzles  me  is  this :  we  were  so  quickly 
on  the  spot  that  those  rascals  had  not  the  slightest 
chance  of  disposing  of  the  corpse.  What  then  has  be- 
come of  it  —  why  can't  we  find  it?  Now  that  one 
knows  all  about  the  ruby  mines  and  the  concessions  — 
which  appear  to  me  to  be  very  valuable  —  the  mystery 
becomes  tolerably  clear.     But  the  corpse,  where  is  it  ?  " 

"  Are  you  quite  sure  that  there  is  a  corpse  ? "  asked 
Field  drily.     "  Let  us  go  and  ask  Bentwood." 

Bentwood  sat  up  and  smiled  as  his  two  chief  tor- 
mentors came  back.  He  was  ready  to  afford  any  infor- 
mation that  the  gentlemen  required. 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  295 

"  It  is  not  much  that  I  am  going  to  ask,"  said  Field. 
"  Only  this :  Please  take  ns  at  once  to  the  spot  where 
we  can  find  the  body  of  Sir  Charles  Darryll." 

Bentwood  jumped  nimbly  to  his  feet.  The  question 
seemed  to  fairly  stagger  him.  If  he  had  thought  of 
concealing  anything,  he  abandoned  the  idea  now. 

"  Come  this  way,  gentlemen,"  he  said.  "  You  are 
too  many  for  me  altogether.  I  wish  to  heaven  that  I 
had  kept  my  medical  discoveries  to  myself." 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

BENTWOOD  led  the  way  from  the  dining-room  up 
a  back  staircase,  and  paused  before  what  looked 
like  a  portion  of  the  wallpaper.  There  was  a  little  dis- 
coloured spot  about  half  way  between  the  dado  and  the 
floor,  and  on  this  the  doctor  pressed  a  shaking  thumb. 
A  part  of  the  wall  fell  away  and  disclosed  a  small  room 
beyond.  The  room  had  evidently  been  occupied  lately, 
for  there  was  a  fire  in  the  grate  and  the  remains  of  a 
meal  on  the  Jable.     The  room  itself  was  empty. 

"  Well,  I  'm  hanged,"  Bentwood  cried.  "  Gentlemen, 
I  can't  tell  you  now.  You  asked  to  see  the  body  of  Sir 
Charles  Darryll,  and  I  have  done  my  best  to  satisfy 
your  curiosity.  The  last  time  I  saw  the  body  it  was 
here.  It  seems  to  have  vanished,  and  I  know  no  more 
than  the  dead  what  has  Happened.  I  'm  telling  you  no 
more  than  the  truth." 

That  the  man  was  telling  the  truth  was  evidenced  by 
the  expression  of  his  face.  Field  had  no  more  ques- 
tions to  ask,  because  he  was  quite  sure  of  the  fact.  On 
the  table  lay  a  letter,  which  the  inspector  first  glanced 
at  and  then  placed  in  his  pocket. 

"  I  am  just  a  little  disappointed,"  he  said,  "  because 
I  fancied  that  I  had  the  complete  and  crowning  surprise 
for  you  here  tonight,  Colonel.  You  had  better  go  off 
with  my  men,  because  I  have  no  further  need  of  your 
services  for  the  present,  Dr.  Bentwood.     Perhaps  to- 

296 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  297 

morrow  I  may  have  the  pleasure  of  calling  upon  you. 
Good  night." 

The  doctor  vanished  from  the  house,  which  was  empty 
now,  save  for  Berrington  and  Field.  The  latter  put 
out  the  lights  and  prepared  to  leave  by  way  of  the  front 
door. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  next  ?  "  Berrington  asked. 

"  Go  back  to  headquarters  and  report  progress,"  Field 
explained.  "  The  rest  is  a  matter  of  chance.  I  fancy 
I  can  see  my  way  pretty  clearly  as  to  what  has  hap- 
pened. Come  along,  sir;  on  the  whole  we  have  no  call 
to  be  dissatisfied." 

But  the  events  of  the  night  were  by  no  means  over 
yet.  A  battered  constable  at  the  Yard  who  had  just 
had  his  head  bandaged  up  had  a  story  to  tell.  The  pris- 
oners from  No.  100,  Audley  Place,  had  not  been  con- 
veyed to  durance  vile  without  one  accident  that  had 
been  attended  with  a  fatal  tragedy.  The  officer  told 
his  story  painfully. 

"  It  was  that  little  devil  by  the  side  of  the  driver," 
he  said.  "  It 's  lucky  for  me  that  he  was  not  a  big  man 
instead  of  a  bag  of  bones.  We  'd  come  about  half  way 
when  he  turned  and  half  throttled  the  driver  and  then 
put  speed  on  the  motor.  There  was  a  struggle  for  the 
steering  gear,  and  then  the  whole  show  came  to  grief 
on  a  bridge.  We  were  all  pitched  out,  but  we  hung  to 
our  prisoners,  who  are  a  pretty  sight,  sir.  Mr.  Rich- 
ford  pitched  over  the  side  of  the  bridge  on  to  the  metals 
of  the  railway  lines  below  and  he  was  killed  on  the 
spot     I  don't  want  another  game  like  that." 

Surely  enough  Richford  had  been  killed.  His  neck 
had  been  broken,  and  he  had  died  without  the  slightest 
pain.     Berrington,  listening  gravely  to  the  story,  felt 


298  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

no  shock  from  the  recital  that  he  had  heard.  The  world 
was  well  rid  of  a  poisonous  scoundrel,  and  Beatrice 
would  be  free  now  to  marry  the  man  of  her  choice. 

"  Was  Sartoris  hurt  ?  "  he  asked,  a  little  ashamed 
to  feel  that  he  would  have  been  glad  to  hear  so  for 
Mary's  sake.     "  A  delicate  man  like  that " 

"  Internally,  the  doctor  says,"  the  officer  went  on ; 
"  been  spitting  blood  ever  since  he  has." 

Berrington  expressed  a  desire  to  see  the  cripple,  who 
received  him  without  any  sign  of  feeling.  He  was  ly- 
ing back  in  an  arm  chair,  his  face  white  and  set. 

"  You  need  not  condole  with  me,"  he  said.  "  Don't 
ask  me  to  make  a  deathbed  confession,  for  that  kind  of 
thing  is  sheer  waste  of  time.  I  know  that  I  'm  dying. 
I  know  that  I  may  fall  back  at  any  moment,  and  then 
there  will  be  the  end.  I  'm  full  of  blood  inside.  I 
might  have  told  that  fool  of  a  doctor  what  he  had  come 
to  find  out  —  that  a  broken  rib  has  pierced  the  lung, 
and  I  'm  bleeding  away  quietly.     Feel  my  hands." 

Berrington  touched  the  cold,  clammy  fingers.  They 
were  icy  with  the  touch  of  death. 

"  Rigor  mortis,"  Sartoris  said.  "  Only  a  few  min- 
utes now.  It 's  a  good  thing  for  you,  and  it 's  a  good 
thing  for  Mary,  who  has  been  cursed  with  a  brother 
like  me.     It  %  it 's " 

Sartoris  said  no  more.  There  was  a  bubbling  kind 
of  sigh,  blood  welled  from  his  mouth  and  ran  down  his 
coat,  his  head  dropped  on  one  side,  and  he  was  gone. 
There  was  nothing  to  be  said,  nothing  to  be  done.  On 
the  whole  it  was  just  as  well. 

"  It 's  a  ghastly  business  altogether,"  Berrington  said 
to  Field.  "  Old  soldier  as  I  am,  I  have  had  quite 
enough  of  horrors  for  one  night.     I  understand  that 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  299 

Miss  Grey  returned  to  the  Royal  Palace  with  Mrs. 
Eichford.  I  had  better  go  and  tell  them  both  what  has 
happened." 

Field  agreed,  and  Berrington  departed  on  his  errand. 
It  was  not  much  past  eleven  yet,  so  there  was  plenty  of 
time.  Mary  and  Beatrice  had  gone  back  to  the  hotel 
in  care  of  Mark  Ventmore.  They  were  seated  in  the 
drawing-room  when  Berrington  arrived. 

Beatrice  crossed  the  room  quickly.  She  wanted  to 
have  a  few  words  with  Berrington  before  the  others 
joined  in  the  discussion;  she  wanted  to  know  if  any- 
thing had  been  discovered. 

"  About  my  father  ?  "  she  asked.  "  This  suspense  is 
horrible.  Have  they  not  got  on  the  track  yet?  Why 
did  they  want  to  do  that  disgraceful  thing  at  all  ?  " 

Berrington  explained  as  far  as  possible.  Beatrice 
was  quick  to  see  the  meaning  of  it  all.  The  recital  of 
the  story  made  her  a  little  easier  in  her  mind. 

"  Possibly  by  this  time  to-morrow,"  Berrington  said. 
"  Meanwhile  I  have  something  to  tell  both  you  and 
Miss  Grey  that  will  be  a  shock  to  you,  though  person- 
ally it  would  be  hypocritical  to  regard  it  in  the  light  of 
a  deplorable  event.  There  was  an  accident  to  the  motor 
car." 

"  Mr.  Sartoris,  I  mean  Mr.  Grey,  has  he  escaped  ?  " 
Beatrice  cried.     "  Yes  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  that  he  was  trying  to  escape.  I  fancy 
it  was  more  in  the  spirit  of  diabolical  mischief  than 
anything  else,  but  he  attacked  the  driver  and  made  a 
grab  for  the  steering  wheel.  The  result  was  a  smash 
on  a  bridge,  and  the  motor  was  upset.  Stephen  Eich- 
ford was  pitched  clean  over  the  bridge  on  to  the  lines, 
and  — 'and " 


300  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

"  Killed  on  the  spot  ? "  Beatrice  asked  quietly. 
"  Would  that  I  could  say  that  I  am  sorry.  It  is  the 
best  thing  that  could  have  happened.  And  the  rest  of 
them  ? " 

"  There  was  not  much  damage  done,  except  to  Sar- 
toris,  or  Grey,  rather.  The  body  of  the  car  struck  him 
on  the  chest,  and  a  rib  stuck  into  his  lung.  He  bled  to 
death.  I  was  the  last  person  to  see  him.  To  the  end 
he  was  as  hard  and  callous  as  ever.  Will  you  tell  Mary, 
please  ?    It  would  come  better  from  you." 

Berrington  and  Ventmore  stood  talking  quietly  to- 
gether whilst  Beatrice  performed  her  sad  task.  Mark 
listened  to  all  that  Berrington  had  to  tell. 

"  And  yet  all  this  bother  might  have  been  saved," 
he  said.  "  My  father  knew  all  about  those  concessions, 
and  he  has  a  pretty  good  idea  of  the  value  of  them. 
Only  yesterday  he  was  talking  to  me  about  it.  If  Sir 
Charles  had  gone  to  him,  he  could  have  got  every  penny 
that  he  required.  But  you  see,  I  was  not  on  good  terms 
with  my  father  at  the  time,  though  that  is  all  forgiven 
and  forgotten  now.  At  any  rate  I  think  we  should  ask 
my  father's  assistance  if  only  to  clear  the  good  name  of 
Sir  Charles,  and  make  a  provision  for  Beatrice.  Now 
that  Bichford  is  dead,  something  will  have  to  be  done. 
Don't  you  think  so  ?  " 

"  I  am  quite  sure  that  you  are  right,"  Berrington 
said.  "  Your  father  is  rich,  and  a  remarkably  good 
man  of  business.  He  is  the  very  one  to  put  matters 
on  a  proper  footing,  and  see  that  the  money  is  returned 
to  the  company  that  Sir  Charles  was  entangled  with. 
You  say  that  those  ruby  mines  are  really  a  good  prop- 
erty ? " 

"  My  father  says  that  they  are  splendid,"  Mark  re- 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  301 

plied.  "  Enough  to  give  Sir  Charles  a  large  income, 
pay  his  debts,  and  provide  for  Miss  Decie  besides.  I 
shall  see  my  father  to-night,  and  will  go  thoroughly 
into  the  question  with  him." 

The  thing  was  left  at  that,  and  Berrington  made  his 
preparations  to  depart.  Mary  was  crying  quietly  now 
with  the  keen  edge  of  her  grief  taken  off.  Mark  and 
Beatrice  drew  aside,  so  that  the  others  could  talk  in 
private. 

"  What  shall  I  say  to  you,  Mary  ?  "  Berrington  asked. 

"  What  can  you  say  ? "  the  girl  asked  in  a  gentle 
tone.  "  You  are  a  good  man,  Phil,  and  it  is  good  to 
know  that  you  have  loved  me  so  devotedly  and  sin- 
cerely. I  shall  be  able  to  come  to  you  now  and  take  up 
the  thread  of  my  happiness,  where  I  deliberately 
snapped  it  three  years  ago.  If  my  brother  had  not 
been  misled  by  a  designing  woman " 

"  Mary,"  Berrington  said  with  firmness.  "  You  are 
utterly  wrong.  I  have  had  the  story  from  Field  only 
to-night,  who  has  heard  it  from  the  lips  of  Miss  Decie 
herself.  She  is  a  girl  as  good  and  pure  as  yourself. 
From  first  to  last  she  was  deceived.  If  Frank  Leviter, 
the  man  who  sacrificed  his  life  for  her  sake  and  whom 
she  loved,  had  lived,  the  mask  would  have  fallen  from 
your  eyes.  Your  brother  treated  Violet  Decie,  as  he 
treated  you,  as  he  treated  everybody.  He  was  bad  to 
the  core  of  his  being,  and  he  has  been  saved  from  a 
shameful  death  by  an  accident.  If  you  will  try  to  get 
all  that  into  your  mind  you  will  be  a  happier  woman. 
You  have  lost  three  of  the  best  years  of  your  life  — ■ 
years  that  belonged  to  me  as  well  as  to  you  —  in  pursuit 
of  a  mistaken  sense  of  duty.     This  must  be  clearly  un- 


302  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

derstood  between  us  if  the  path  of  our  married  life  is 
to  be  free  from  care." 

Mary  bent  her  head  and  said  nothing.  And  yet, 
deep  down  in  her  heart  she  knew  that  Berrington  had 
said  no  more  than  the  truth.  She  placed  her  hand  in 
his. 

"  I  am  ready  for  you  when  the  time  comes,  Phil," 
she  whispered.  "  Only  one  thing  I  ask.  Never  let 
this  be  mentioned  between  us  again." 

"  That  I  faithfully  promise,"  said  Berrington.  "  It 
is  what  I  was  going  to  suggest.  Do  you  stay  here  to- 
night with  Beatrice  Darryll  ?  " 

Mary  replied  that  that  was  the  arrangement.  Mean- 
while Mark  had  been  discussing  the  future  with 
Beatrice.  She  had  warmly  approved  of  all  that  her 
lover  had  said  about  his  father.  She  was  glad  to 
know  that  old  Mr.  Ventmore  would  not  oppose  the  mar- 
riage, and  that  her  love  for  him  would  not  tend  to  keep 
Mark  a  poor  man. 

"  So  perhaps  you  had  better  let  me  have  all  those 
papers  that  Sartoris  was  so  anxious  to  get  hold  of," 
Mark  concluded.  "  Could  you  let  me  have  them 
now  ? " 

"  Of  course  I  can,"  Beatrice  said.  "  I  '11  go  and 
get  them  for  you  from  my  room.  Mary  Grey  is  shar- 
ing my  bed  with  me  to-night  —  to-morrow  I  shall  ar- 
range for  her  to  have  my  father's  room.  I  '11  get  the 
papers  at  once  if  you  will  wait." 

The  papers  were  found  with  some  little  delay,  and 
Beatrice  was  preparing  to  come  downstairs  again  when 
it  seemed  to  her  that  she  heard  a  noise  in  the  room  next 
to  her,   the  bedroom  that  had  been  occupied  by  Sir 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  303 

Charles.  It  was  a  creeping  kind  of  noise  followed  by 
what  was  most  unmistakably  a  sneeze. 

Beatrice  hesitated  just  for  a  moment,  for  her  nerves 
had  been  much  strained  lately.  Then  she  put  her  fear 
from  her  and  walked  into  the  next  room.  Only  one  of 
the  electric  lights  gave  a  feeble  glimmer  over  the  room. 
A  man  stood  there,  a  man  who  was  changing  his  upper 
garments.  Beatrice  gave  a  little  cry  and  staggered 
back  into  the  doorway.  The  man  turned  at  the  same 
time,  and  saw  that  he  was  observed.  His  face  was  as 
white  as  that  of  Beatrice. 

"  Father !  "  the  girl  said,  "  father !  "  Is  it  possible 
that  I  am  not  dreaming  and  that  you  are  in  the  flesh 
before  me  again  ?     Oh,  father,  father !  " 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

A  DEADLY  faintness  came  over  Beatrice.  Torn 
and  distracted  as  she  had  been  of  late,  this  last 
discovery  was  almost  too  much  for  her.  She  could 
only  stand  there  with  her  hand  upon  her  heart  to  still 
its  passionate  beating. 

Yes,  it  was  her  father,  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt. 
How  he  got  there  Beatrice  could  not  possibly  have 
told.  He  was  looking  much  the  same  as  when  Beatrice 
had  seen  him  last,  save  that  his  clothes  were  not  so 
neat  and  he  had  not  been  shaved  for  some  days.  He 
seemed  quite  resigned  to  the  situation  although  his  ex- 
pression was  cross  and  irritable.  He  motioned  to 
Beatrice  to  shut  the  door. 

"  Why  don't  you  close  the  door  ? "  he  demanded. 
"  Suppose  anybody  saw  me  ?  " 

Beatrice  was  getting  back  some  of  her  self-posses- 
sion by  this  time.  She  closed  the  door  and  then  took 
her  seat  on  the  edge  of  her  father's  bed. 

"  Why  should  you  not  be  seen  ? "  she  asked. 
"  What  difference  can  it  possibly  make  ?  We  have  all 
been  looking  for  you  everywhere.  Where  have  you 
been  ?  " 

"  I  'm  not  quite  sure,"  was  the  strange  reply.  "  But 
you  seem  to  have  lost  sight  of  my  peculiar  situation, 
Beatrice.  My  head  is  a  little  strange  and  confused, 
but  I  dare  say  it  will  come  right  presently.  What  hap- 
pened to  me  on  the  night  of  the  dinner  party  ?  " 

304 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  305 

"  I  did  not  see  that  anything  happened,"  Beatrice 
said.  "  I  suppose  you  went  to  bed  in  the  ordinary 
way.     I  did  not  see  that  there  was  anything " 

"  You  didn't  notice  that  I  had  too  much  wine  with 
my  dinner  ? " 

Beatrice  was  fain  to  admit  that  she  had  not  noticed 
anything  of  the  kind.  She  wondered  how  much  her 
father  really  knew  as  to  what  had  happened. 

"  There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  fuss,"  Sir  Charle8 
said.  He  proceeded  to  dress  himself  in  certain  old 
clothes  and  took  up  a  beard  and  spectacles  from  the 
dressing  table.  Beatrice  watched  him  with  a  growing 
feeling  that  he  had  taken  leave  of  his  senses. 

"  Why  are  you  going  to  use  those  things  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Because  it  is  absolutely  necessary,"  Sir  Charles  said 
irritably.  "  I  came  here  in  this  disguise  to  pick  out 
certain  things  that  I  needed.  A  kind  friend  furnished 
this  disguise,  and  also  money  for  me  to  get  away." 

"  But  why  do  you  want  to  get  away  ? "  Beatrice 
asked,  more  puzzled  than  ever. 

"  My  dear  child,  your  memory  must  be  sadly  defec- 
tive," Sir  Charles  said  sharply.  "  You  seem  to  forget 
that  I  am  in  great  difficulties.  Bichford  was  going  to 
put  me  right,  but  Bichford  is  dead.  It  is  just  my 
luck." 

"Who  told  you  that?"  Beatrice  asked.  "Why  it 
was  only  tonight " 

"  My  dear,  there  was  a  gentleman  outside  the  hotel 

who  told  somebody  else.     Bichford  was  arrested  at  the 

house  of  a  friend  of  mine ;  I  saw  the  thing  done.     Then 

I  realized  that  my  position  was  desperate.     You  see  I 

have  been  stopping  at  Wandsworth  with  a  friend  for 

the  last  two  or  three  days." 
20 


306  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

Beatrice  began  to  understand  a  little.  The  cunning 
nature  of  the  plot  was  beginning  to  unfold  itself  before 
her. 

"  The  name  of  that  friend  is  Mr.  Carl  Sartoris,  I 
suppose  ?  "  Beatrice  asked. 

"  That  ?s  the  man.  Though  I  cannot  see  how  you 
came  to  know  that.  I  had  met  Sartoris  before  on  busi- 
ness. He  wanted  me  to  sell  him  some  rubbishy  Ruby 
Mines  concessions  that  Lord  Edward  Decie  and  myself 
procured  years  ago.  I  refused  to  take  his  money  then ; 
it  did  not  seem  fair.  Besides  I  was  in  funds  at  the 
time." 

Beatrice  could  hardly  refrain  from  smiling  at  the 
naive  confession. 

"  I  should  like  to  hear  more  about  that,"  she  said. 

"  I  was  just  coming  to  it,"  Sir  Charles  went  on.  "  I 
must  have  taken  too  much  wine  on  that  night ;  I  seemed 
to  sleep  for  days.  When  I  came  to  myself  I  was  in  a 
strange  room,  with  a  doctor  bending  over  me." 

"  A  tall  man  with  a  beard  ?  A  man  who  carries 
drink  all  over  him  ?  "  Beatrice  asked. 

"  That  is  the  fellow,"  Sir  Charles  said  with  obvious 
surprise,  "  though  how  you  could  know  all  these  things 
puzzles  me.  Name  of  Bentwood.  Sartoris  was  in  the 
room,  too.  He  told  me  that  I  had  been  found  wander- 
ing about,  and  he  told  me  that  I  was  in  danger  of  im- 
mediate arrest,  When  I  suggested  sending  for  Rich- 
ford,  he  said  that  Richford  had  come  to  grief,  and  that 
the  police  were  after  him.  Altogether,  my  dear  child, 
my  situation  was  not  one  to  be  envied." 

"  I  quite  understand  that,"  Beatrice  said,  not  with- 
out sarcasm. 

u  My  dear,  it  was  dreadful.     Richford  had  come  to 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  307 

grief.  So  far  as  I  knew  to  the  contrary,  my  only  child 
was  mated  to  a  felon.     Think  of  my  mental  agony !  " 

"  I  don't  think  we  need  dwell  on  that,"  Beatrice  said 
with  some  traces  of  scorn  in  her  voice.  "  You  always 
knew  that  Stephen  Richford  was  a  scoundrel.  He  was 
not  the  less  of  a  scoundrel  because  he  could  give  me  a 
position  as  the  wife  of  a  rich  man,  and  because  he  could 
free  you  from  a  great  and  terrible  danger.  My  mental 
agony  counted  for  something  too." 

"  I  should  think  it  did,"  Sir  Charles  said  pompously. 
"  I  find  that  you  were  married,  that  all  the  papers  were 
talking  of  my  strange  disappearance.  Strangely 
enough,  I  never  could  get  a  sight  of  a  daily  newspaper. 
I  don't  know  why.  At  any  rate,  you  were  married. 
Richford  had  come  to  grief,  and  thus  was  in  hourly 
expectation  of  arrest.  It  was  at  this  point  that  my 
friend  Carl  Sartoris  came  in.  He  kept  me  safe,  he 
insisted  upon  giving  me  £500  for  those  concessions, 
which  really  was  a  delicate  way  of  finding  me  the 
money  to  leave  the  country.  Everything  was  arranged 
for  my  departure  when  the  police  came  to  the  house 
of  my  friend  Sartoris  and  took  him  off  also.  Directly 
I  found  that  out,  that  something  was  wrong  there,  I 
crept  away  from  the  house,  and  here  I  am." 

Sir  Charles  held  out  his  hands  helplessly.  He  al- 
ways expected  other  people  to  do  things  for  him. 
Beatrice  began  to  see  her  side  of  the  case.  Richford 
was  dead,  andr  the  large  sum  of  money  that  he  had 
promised  Sir  Charles  was  no  longer  available.  And 
Beatrice  recalled  the  night  of  the  dinner  party,  when 
her  father  had  taken  her  to  the  window,  and  had  shown 
her  the  two  men  watching  silently  below.     The  danger 


308  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

was  just  as  great  as  ever ;  it  was  just  as  imperative  that 
Sir  Charles  should  leave  the  country. 

Out  of  the  whirling  emotion  in  Beatrice's  head  order 
began  to  be  restored.  Everybody,  so  far  as  the  girl 
knew,  believed  her  father  to  be  dead.  The  body  had 
been  spirited  away  for  some  reason  known  to  Sartoris 
and  his  colleagues;  nobody  ever  expected  to  see  Sir 
Charles  again.  If  he  could  slip  out  of  the  country 
now,  and  go  abroad,  the  danger  would  be  averted. 
Beatrice  began  to  see  her  way  to  manage  the  thing. 

"  I  will  do  what  I  can,"  she  said.  "  You  have  that 
£500  intact?  Very  good.  But  there  are  some  thing3 
that  I  am  bound  to  tell  you.  People  who  are  in  a  posi- 
tion to  know,  say  that  your  mining  concessions  are  very 
valuable  indeed." 

"  Worth  absolutely  nothing,"  Sir  Charles  said. 
"  Tried  it  before.  Besides,  if  they  were  worth  a  lot 
of  money,  it  is  impossible  to  work  the  mine.  The 
country  is  too  disturbed  and  dangerous  for  anything  of 
that  kind.  Besides,  I  have  sold  the  concessions,  and 
there  is  an  end  of  it.  Even  without  a  business  mind 
you  can  see  that." 

"  All  the  same,  I  feel  pretty  sure  that  I  am  right," 
Beatrice  said.  "  My  dear  father,  you  have  been  the 
victim  of  a  strange  conspiracy.  You  had  not  taken  too 
much  wine  that  night,  but  you  were  drugged  by  some 
mineral  or  vegetable  in  such  a  manner  that  the  next 
day  you  were  taken  for  dead.  I  did  not  know  that  fact 
till  I  was  married ;  indeed,  the  news  was  kept  from  me 
and  brought  to  me  at  church.  The  man  whom  you 
regard  as  your  benefactor  wanted  certain  papers  of 
yours,  and  the  doctor,  Bentwood,  was  going  to  do  the 
drugging.     It  was  done  too  well ;  you  were  regarded  as 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  309 

dead.  Then,  for  some  reason  or  oth^r,  probably  be- 
cause it  was  necessary  for  you  to  sign  certain  papers 
—  your  body  was  stolen,  and  you  were  taken,  still  in  a 
state  like  death,  to  the  house  of  Carl  Sartoris  at  Wands- 
worth." 

"  God  bless  my  soul,  you  don't  really  mean  it  ? " 
Sir  Charles  cried. 

"  Indeed  I  do,"  Beatrice  went  on.  "  This  Bentwood 
is  a  doctor  who  is  an  expert  in  the  miracles  and  the 
hocus  pocus  of  the  East.  The  drug  they  administered 
to  you  is  not  known  in  England;  the  thing  has  never 
been  seen  here.  I  understand  that  they  could  have 
kept  you  in  a  state  of  suspended  animation  as  long  as 
they  pleased.  But  they  desired  to  see  you  in  the  flesh 
again  so  that  you  could  sign  that  paper  relating  to 
those  mines." 

"  I  signed  the  paper  this  very  morning,"  Sir  Charles 
cried.  "  But  I  don't  understand  it  all.  Begin  at  the 
beginning  and  tell  me  all  over  again." 

Beatrice  did  so,  but  it  was  a  long  time  before  her 
father  appeared  to  comprehend.  When  he  did  so  he 
was  utterly  incapable  of  seeing  what  Carl  Sartoris  had 
had  in  his  mind. 

"  I  can  see  that  they  didn't  want  to  murder  me,"  he 
said.  "  A  post-morten  would  have  prevented  that  part 
of  the  scheme  that  required  my  signature  —  hence  the 
daring  theft  of  my  body.  But  the  main  thing  is  that 
I  have  made  £500  by  the  transaction." 

Beatrice's  lip  curled  scornfully. 

"  I  had  hoped  that  you  would  have  taken  another 
view  of  the  case,"  she  said.  "  I  am  afraid  that  you 
will  never  alter,  father.  Bichford  is  dead,  and  I  am 
free  from  him.     Sartoris  is  dead,  also,  so  we  shall  never 


310  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

know  what  his  ultimate  designs  were.  I  don  't  see  that 
you  can  keep  that  money  under  the  circumstances, 
father." 

Sir  Charles  was  emphatically  of  a  different  opinion. 
Besides,  as  he  pointedly  put  it,  how  was  he  going  to 
get  away  without  funds  ? 

"  I  had  forgotten  that  side  of  the  matter,"  Beatrice 
said.  "  But  I  am  not  without  friends.  There  is  Mark 
Ventmore,  for  instance.     If  I  were  to  ask  him " 

"  You  are  not  to  do  anything  of  the  kind,"  Sir 
Charles  said  angrily.  "  How  on  earth  am  I  going  to 
restore  this  money  to  Sartoris  when  the  poor  fellow  is 
dead  ?  He  may  not  have  a  single  relative  in  the  world, 
for  all  I  know.  The  money  is  honestly  mine,  and  it  is 
sufficient  to  take  me  out  of  this  accursed  country  where 
detectives  are  waiting  for  me  at  every  corner.  And 
now  you  want  to  bring  Mark  Ventmore  into  it." 

"  Mark  is  the  soul  of  honour,"  Beatrice  said.  "  I 
am  sure  that  he " 

"  Has  been  in  the  past  a  confounded  nuisance,"  Sir 
Charles  interrupted.  "  It  looks  as  if  he  were  going  to 
be  just  as  much  trouble  in  the  future." 

"  He  is  the  man  I  am  going  to  marry,"  Beatrice  said 
quietly.  "  I  offered  my  life  to  save  you  and  your  good 
name,  and  a  merciful  providence  released  me  from  the 
sacrifice.  Next  time,  I  please  myself.  I  shall  never 
marry  anybody  but  Mark." 

"  Of  course  you  won't,"  Sir  Charles  said,  in  an 
aggrieved  voice.  "  If  you  had  never  seen  Mark  Vent- 
more you  would  have  been  married  to  Richford  a  year 
ago,  in  which  case  I  should  not  stand  in  my  present 
awkward  position.  But  we  are  only  wasting  time. 
Help  me  on  with  this  beard  and  then  walk  as  far  as 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  311 

the  hall  with  me.     Then  you  can  give  me  a  kiss,  and 
I  '11  take  a  cab  and  give  you  my  blessing." 

Beatrice  said  nothing.  She  would  keep  his  secret. 
And  all  the  world  should  hear  that  Sir  Charles  had 
been  the  victim  of  a  calamity  that  could  not  be  solved. 


CHAPTEK  XL 

THEREFORE  there  was  nothing  to  be  done. 
Perhaps  after  the  lapse  of  years  Mark  might 
be  told  the  strange  sequel  to  the  story.  Sir  Charles 
might  be  visited  from  time  to  time  in  the  place  where 
he  would  choose  to  hide  himself.  It  would  be  by  no 
means  an  enviable  fate  for  a  man  who  had  lived  and 
enjoyed  the  world  as  Sir  Charles  had  done,  but  he  must 
lie  on  the  bed  that  he  had  made. 

"  It  shall  be  exactly  as  you  say,"  Beatrice  said. 
"  One  moment  and  I  will  be  with  you  again.  I  have 
some  friends,  downstairs,  who  will  wonder  at  my  long 
absence.  I  will  go  and  make  some  excuse  for  you. 
Perhaps  you  had  better  come  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs." 

At  the  foot  of  the  stairs  leading  to  the  great  hall, 
Mark  stood  waiting.  At  the  sight  of  him  Sir  Charles 
drew  back,  muttering  something  by  no  means  compli- 
mentary to  the  young  man,  under  his  breath. 

"  I  stay  in  the  bedroom  till  he  has  gone,"  he  said,  as 
he  stepped  back. 

Beatrice  hoped  that  her  face  did  not  betray  signs  of 
very  much  agitation.  All  the  same,  she  rather  won- 
dered why  Mark  looked  at  her  so  very  fixedly.  Per- 
haps it  was  an  uneasy  conscience  that  was  troubling  the 
girl.     Mark's  first  words  startled  her. 

"  So  you  have  been  the  first  to  find  it  out  ? "  he  said. 

"  Find  out  what  ?  "  Beatrice  stammered.  "I  —  I 
don't  understand  what  you  mean. 

312 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  313 

"  My  dear  girl,  why  try  to  blind  me  to  the  truth  ? 
Field  told  me  Berrington  actually  knows  that  your 
father  was  concealed  at  100,  Audley  Place.  And  I 
know  all  about  that  disgraceful  City  business,  because 
my  father  told  me  all  about  it.  Sir  Charles  has  come 
back,  he  was  with  you  just  now;  he  is  going  to  make 
his  way  to  the  Continent." 

Beatrice  had  no  reply  for  the  moment;  her  face  was 
red  with  shame. 

"  Forgive  me,"  she  whispered  at  length.  "  You  have 
guessed  everything.  I  suppose  it  was  your  quick  in- 
stinct thiat  told  you  my  companion  was  my  father.  But, 
my  dearest  Mark,  cannot  you  see  that  he  must  fly  ?  He 
has  the  money  from  Sartoris " 

"  Who  gave  it  him  on  purpose,"  Mark  said  eagerly. 
"  Who  bought  a  valuable  thing  for  a  mere  song,  thus 
putting  a  fortune  in  his  pocket,  and  getting  Sir  Charles 
out  of  the  way  for  good  and  all,  at  the  same  time.  My 
dearest  child,  whatever  your  father  may  think  or  say, 
those  ruby  mine  concessions  are  of  fabulous  value.  My 
father  has  gone  into  the  matter  carefully,  and  he  is 
prepared  to  back  his  opinion  by  large  sums  of  money. 
My  father  is  never  wrong  in  these  things.  There  is  a 
fortune  here  for  Sir  Charles  and  also  for  Miss  Decie. 
Let  your  father  come  out  and  say  that  he  has  been  the 
victim  of  swindlers  who  had  resolved  to  get  his  property 
from  him.  Let  him  call  on  my  father,  who  to-morrow 
will  give  him  a  cheque  for  ten  times  the  amount  re- 
quired to  get  him  out  of  all  his  troubles.  I  can  guar- 
antee that." 

"  You  mean  to  say  that  your  father  is  actually  pre- 
pared   " 

"  Certainly  he  is  —  on  condition  that  Sir   Charles 


314  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

and  he  are  equal  partners.  I  '11  go  and  get  my  father 
to  come  round  here  now.  Only  I  '11  see  Sir  Charles 
first." 

Beatrice  would  have  dissuaded  him,  but  he  would 
take  no  refusal.  He  burst  into  the  bedroom  of  the  dis- 
comfited baronet  and  asked  him  to  remove  his  disguise. 
Sir  Charles  was  too  weak  to  do  more  than  remonstrate 
in  a  gentlemanly  way,  but  his  troubled  face  grew  clear 
as  Mark  proceeded  with  the  argument.  The  sanguine 
side  of  the  baronet's  nature  came  up  again. 

"  Really,  my  dear  boy,  this  is  exceedingly  kind  of 
you,"  he  said.  "  Fact  is,  I  had  not  the  least  idea  that 
I  was  being  treated  in  a  really  scandalous  manner.  I 
regarded  Sartoris  as  a  thoroughly  good  fellow  who  was 
going  out  of  his  way  to  do  me  a  service.  And  if  your 
father  says  that  those  mines  are  valuable,  I  am  pre- 
pared to  believe  him,  for  there  is  no  shrewder  judge  in 
the  City.  As  Sartoris  is  dead,  that  deed  that  I  signed 
falls  to  the  ground." 

"  It  would  fall  to  the  ground  in  any  case,"  Mark 
said,  "  seeing  that  it  was  obtained  by  fraud.  Now  be 
so  good  as  to  dress  yourself  properly,  and  I  will  take 
a  cab  and  go  and  fetch  my  father.  The  whole  business 
can  be  settled  on  the  spot." 

Mark  went  off,  Beatrice  saying  that  she  must  go  back 
to  Mary  Grey. 

She  hung  lovingly  on  the  arm  of  Mark  as  they  crossed 
the  corridor.  The  light  was  low  there  and  nobody  was 
about. 

"  I  hope  you  are  going  to  forgive  me,  dear,"  she  said. 
"  I  came  very  near  to  paying  a  heavy  penalty  for  not 
trusting  in  you,  Mark.  But  everything  is  going  my 
way  now." 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  315 

"  Our  way/'  Mark  protested.  "  I  don't  care 
whether  anybody  is  looking  or  not,  I  am  going  to  kiss 
you,  dearest.  You  have  always  belonged  to  me  and  to 
nobody  else.  I  cannot  possibly  regard  you  in  the  light 
of  Stephen  Richford's  widow.  If  I  were  you,  I  would 
not  say  anything  to  the  others  until  after  I  have  settled 
matters  between  your  father  and  mine.  Let  Mary 
Grey  have  a  good  night's  rest,  and  pack  her  off  to  bed 
as  soon  as  possible." 

Mary  was  safely  in  bed  and  asleep  before  Mark  came 
back.  Berrington  stayed  long  enough  for  Beatrice  to 
tell  him  exactly  what  had  happened.  The  melancholy 
shade  that  Beatrice  had  seen  so  long  on  Berrington's 
face  had  vanished  altogether. 

"  My  poor  little  girl  is  going  to  have  peace  and  hap- 
piness at  last,"  he  said,  with  a  deep  thrill  in  his  voice. 
"  We  shall  value  it  all  the  more  because  we  have  waited 
for  it  so  long,  so  that  the  three  years  of  our  probation 
will  not  be  altogether  wasted.  I  expect  there  will  be 
a  good  deal  of  talk  about  Carl  Sartoris  for  a  few  days 
to  come,  but  that  need  not  concern  Mary,  who  has  never 
been  identified  with  that  scoundrel,  and  whose  name  is 
Grey,  after  all.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days  I  am 
going  to  take  Mary  away  and  we  shall  be  married  very 
quietly.  I  am  determined  to  try  to  get  the  roses  back 
to  her  cheeks  again." 

"  I  hope  you  will  be  happy,  as  you  deserve  to  be," 
Beatrice  said  with  some  emotion.  "  But  I  shall  be 
sorry  to  lose  two  such  good,  kind  friends,  and " 

"  You  are  not  going  to  lose  us,"  Berrington  said. 
"  I  am  going  to  give  up  soldiering  altogether.  I  have 
only  carried  it  on  for  the  last  few  years,  because  I 
needed  something  to  keep  me  from  brooding  over  my 


31G  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

troubles.  I  am  going  to  settle  down  on  my  property  at 
last.     Good-night." 

Beatrice  shook  Berrington  warmly  by  the  hand,  and 
he  kissed  her  little  fingers.  He  had  barely  departed 
before  Mark  was  back  with  a  little  wiry  man  with  a 
keen  face  and  a  pair  of  grey  eyes  that  seemed  to  see 
into  everything. 

"  So  this  is  Beatrice,"  he  said,  as  he  shook  hands. 
"  You  must  let  me  call  you  that,  my  dear,  because  you 
are  going  to  be  my  daughter,  Mark  tells  me.  I  am  a 
plain  man  who  has  more  or  less  lived  for  business  all 
his  life,  but  begins  to  see  lately  that  business  is  not 
everything.  It  does  not  make  for  happiness,  for  in- 
stance. When  I  was  ill  I  began  to  see  that.  But  at 
any  rate  the  result  of  my  business  can  make  others 
happy."^ 

Beatrice  blushed  and  smiled.  She  began  to  see  that 
she  was  going  to  like  Mark's  father  very  much  indeed. 
In  quite  a  natural  way  she  kissed  him.  The  little  grey 
man  beamed  with  pleasure. 

"  Now  that  was  real  nice  of  you,"  he  said.  "  Mark 
has  a  great  deal  more  sense  and  discretion  than  I  gave 
him  credit  for.  He  is  making  a  name  for  himself,  too. 
But  you  can't  live  on  that  kind  of  thing,  at  least  not  at 
first,  and  I  'm  going  to  give  Mark  £5000  a  year,  on 
condition  that  he  takes  a  pretty  little  place  in  the  coun- 
try, where  I  can  come  and  see  you  week  ends.  My 
dear,  I  feel  that  we  are  going  to  be  very  good  friends 
indeed." 

"  I  am  quite  certain  of  it,"  Beatrice  said  with  tears 
in  Her  eyes.  "  Everybody  is  so  good  to  me.  I  can't 
think  why,  but  they  are." 

"You'll  find  out  if  you  look'  at  yourself  in  the 


THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE  317 

glass,"  Mr.  Ventmore  laughed.  "  There  the  secret  lies. 
Not  a  bad  compliment,  eh,  from  a  man  who  never  tried 
his  hand  at  that  kind  of  thing  before?  And  now  let 
me  go  and  see  that  father  of  yours.  Did  I  bring  my 
cheque-book,  Mark  ? " 

Mark  gaily  answered  his  father  that  he  did,  and  to- 
gether the  two  went  up  the  stairs.  When  they  came 
down  at  length,  there  was  an  expression  on  the  face  of 
Mr.  Ventmore  that  showed  that  he  was  by  no  means 
displeased  with  himself.  Sir  Charles  was  whistling  an 
opera  tune  and  was  regarding  a  cigar  with  an  air  of 
critical  attention. 

"  Everything  is  settled,"  he  said.  "  Those  City 
people  will  be  paid  off  to-morrow,  and  I  shall  be  free 
of  them  altogether.  I  shall  never  touch  business 
again,  Beatrice ;  this  has  been  a  lesson  to  me.  And  if 
not  a  rich  man,  I  shall  be  very  comfortably  off.  What- 
ever luxuries  you  may  need  in  the  future  will  not  have 
to  be  schemed  for.  My  dear  girl,  will  you  order  a 
chicken  and  some  salad  and  a  pint  of  some  good  dry 
champagne  to  be  brought  here  ?  I  'm  particularly 
ravenous  with  hunger.  Wonderful  how  one's  appetite 
comes  back  when  you  get  your  mind  free  from  worry. 
And  to  think  of  those  concessions  being  of  that  value, 
after  all.     Ring  the  bell,  please." 

The  next  day  was  a  good  one  for  the  evening  papers. 
Sir  Charles  was  interviewed  till  he  was  hot  and  angry 
and  disposed  to  order  his  tormentors  out  of  the  room. 
Scotland  Yard  had  its  own  version  of  the  case,  too, 
which  was  not  quite  in  accordance  with  the  real  facts. 
But  as  Berrington  said,  the  excitement  soon  cooled 
down,  and  the  next  sensation  drove  the  recollection  of 
Sir  Charles's  wonderful  experience  out  of  the  public 


318  THE  SLAVE  OF  SILENCE 

mind.  Sir  Charles  and  his  daughter  went  off  to  the 
country,  so  as  to  escape  so  much  attention,  and  Ber- 
rington  and  Mary  Grey  went  along.  At  the  end  of  the 
week  there  was  a  wedding  at  the  pretty  church  in  the 
village,  and  Mary  was  happy  at  last.  Mark  and  Bea- 
trice would  have  to  wait  for  six  months  or  so,  because 
there  was  public  opinion  to  be  thought  of,  though  as  a 
matter  of  fact  the  thing  was  the  most  empty  form. 

"  I  hope  we  shall  be  as  happy  as  they  are,"  Mark 
said  as  he  and  Beatrice  watched  the  train  slowly  glide 
into  the  darkness.     "  They  have  earned  it,  too." 

"  I  think  we  both  have,"  Beatrice  said.  "  But  don't 
look  backward,  especially  on  a  day  like  this.  Let  us 
go  into  the  big  wood,  and  pick  daffodils." 

And  in  the  train  Berrington  had  gathered  his  wife 
to  his  heart  and  kissed  her  tenderly.  He  looked  down 
into  the  soft  eyes  from  which  the  shadow  had  gone  for 
ever. 

"  And  you  are  happy  at  last,  darling  ? "  he  said ; 
"  though  you  are  very  silent." 

"  Silent,  yes,"  Mary  said  quietly.  "  Quiet,  too. 
But  thank  God  no  longer  the  Slave  of  Silence !  " 


"  A  Spell-binding  Creation  "  —  Lilian  Whiting 


MYSTERIOUS 
MR.    SABIN 


By  E.  PHILLIPS  OPPENHEIM 

Author  of  "A  Prince  of  Sinners,"  "  Anna  the 

Adventuress,"  etc. 

Illustrated     397  pages.     12mo.     $1.50 

DEALS  with  an  intrigue  of  international  moment  — 
the  fomenting  of  a  war  between  Great  Britain  and 
Germany  and  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbon  monarchy  in 
France  as  a  consequence.  Intensely  readable  for  the 
dramatic  force  with  which  the  story  is  told,  the  absolute 
originality  of  the  underlying  creative  thought,  and  the 
strength  of  all  the  men  and  women  who  fill  the  pages. 

— Pittsburg  Times. 
Not  for  long  has  so  good  a  story  of  the  kind  been 
published,  and  the  book  is  the  more  commendable  because 
the  literary  quality  of  its  construction  has  not  b&en 
slighted.  He  whose  pulses  are  not  quickened  by  the  tale 
must  be  jaded  and  phlegmatic  indeed. —  Chicago  Record- 
Herald. 

For  a  good,  grippy  story,  it  is  the  best  of  the  present 
season's  output. — Cleveland  Leader. 

Mr.  Oppenheim  possesses  the  magic  art  of  narration. 

— New  York  Herald. 

If  we  forget  all  else  in  the  story,  we  will  remember  Mr. 
Sabin,  and  freely  account  him  a  man  of  mark  among 
the  thronging  characters  of  latter-day  literature. —  Boston 
Courier. 


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THE 
MASTER  MUMMER 


By  E.  PHILLIPS  OPPENHEIM 

Author  of  **  A  Prince  of  Sinners,"  "  Anna  the  Adventuress," 
'^Mysterious  Mr.  Sabin,"  etc. 

Illustrated  by  F.  H.  Townsend.     12mo.    $1.50 

The  dexterous  craftsmanship  in  the  manipulation  of  an 
absorbing  plot  that  characterizes  Mr.  Oppenheim's  work  is 
here  applied  to  the  most  romantic  theme  he  has  as  yet  con- 
ceived. The  strange  adventures  that  befel  the  young 
Princess  of  the  imaginary  kingdom  of  Bartena,  and  the 
significant  part  the  mysterious  "  Master  Mummer  "  plays 
in  the  girl's  life,  furnish  abundant  material  for  a  fresh  and 
fascinating  modern  romance. 

There  are  several  English  novelists  of  the  day  whose 
work  may  be  taken  on  trust,  if  one  wishes  merely  to  be 
entertained.  Among  these  writers  are  Anthony  Hope, 
E.  W.  Hornung,  and  E.  Phillips  Oppenheim.  Mr.  Oppen- 
heim  is  the  youngest  of  the  three,  but  in  sheer  force  of 
imagination,  which  keeps  the  reader's  interest  on  the 
stretch  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  a  story,  he  is  easily 
foremost.  —  San  Francisco  Call. 


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'Depicts  genuine  life."  —  Providence  Journal. 


A 

PEINCE  OF  SINNERS 


By  E.  PHILLIPS   OPPENHEIM 

Illustrated.    12mo.    $1.50. 


Mr.  Oppenheim's  ability  and  vivid  imagination  are  given 
full  play  in  this  fine  story,  and  his  character  delineation 
was  never  better.  —  Louisville  Courier-Journal. 

It  is  rare  that  so  much  knowledge  of  the  world,  taken 
as  a  whole,  is  set  between  two  covers  of  a  novel.  —  Chicago 
Daily  News. 

"  Mr.  Oppenheim  really  got  ahead  of  Mr.  Joseph  Cham- 
berlain in  attempting  to  show,  through  the  vehicle  of  fic- 
tion, that  the  salvation  of  the  English  workingman  is 
dependent  upon  the  restoration  of  a  protective  tariff  in  his 
country,"  says  the  Boston  Herald. 

Lord  Arranmore  is  a  character  that  would  have  thrown 
no  discredit  upon  a  Thackeray  or  a  George  Eliot,  and 
more  than  once  we  are  reminded  of  Goethe's  Mephistoph- 
eles.  Mr.  Oppenheim  has  written  an  ingenious,  edifying, 
and  extremely  interesting  story.  It  is  the  best  he  has  yet 
produced.  —  Chicago  Record-Herald. 

Unquestionably  one  of  the  very  best  volumes  of  fiction 
of  the  year.  —  B.  0.  Flower,  Editor  of  The  Arena. 


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An  Ingenious  Story  of  London  Life 


ANNA 
THE    ADVENTURESS 


By  E.  PHILLIPS  OPPENHEIM 
Author  of  "  A  Prince  of  Sinners,"  etc. 
Illustrated.     320  pages.     12mo.     $1.50 

"Two  sisters,  Anna  and  Annabel,  who  look  alike,  are  the 
heroines  of  this  ingenious  novel  of  London  life.  Sir  John 
Ferringhall  marries  one,  believing  her  to  be  the  other. 
The  consequences  of  this  bold  deception  Mr.  Oppen- 
heim  has  unfolded  to  us  with  remarkable  ingenuity.  The 
story  sparkles  with  brilliant  conversation  and  strong  situ- 
ations," says  the  St.  Louis  Republic. 

An  invigorating  romance  which  carries  the  reader  along 
to  the  end  with  excitement  and  interest.  —  London  Daily 
Express. 

A  story  of  London  life  that  is  at  once  unusual,  original, 
consistent,  and  delightful. —  Buffalo  Express. 

Powerful  and  captivating.  —  Liverpool  Courier. 

Mr.  Oppenheim  has  the  magic  gift  of  the  story-teller.  — 
Boston  Herald. 

An  entrancing  story  Which  has  seldom  been  surpassed 
as  a  study  of  feminine  character  and  temperament.  —  The 
Outlook,  London. 


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